The Unconventionality of the Colour Grey
by Booblube
Summary: A story in which an edgy teenager named Mari Yoshizawa decides to become a hero on a whim, and somewhere along the way begins to understand what being a decent human being is like. (An incredibly self-indulgent BNHA reverse harem featuring the antagonist as the protagonist, too. - SI/OC x Bakugou, Midoriya, Kaminari, Shinso & Todoroki).
1. MARI YOSHIZAWA WANTS TO BE A HERO

OK! ALRIGHT! im back on this shit. i prolly shouldnt start a new fic but here we are. i wanted to try a genuinely villainous ac who is total bitch™ so i could explore stuff like the hero-villain dynamics in society that were in the hero killer stain arc. so just a warning, this oc is very mean but i promise she gets better! also! its an oc but im pretty vague about details of her appearance so its more a 1st person reader insert or self insert ngl

(just a heads up btw! this is a cross-post from my ao3 story under the same name with the username** 'screamingplant'** which typically updates faster, with extra author notes and images!)

* * *

MARI YOSHIZAWA WANTS TO BE A HERO

* * *

I killed a man when I was nine years old.

An extraordinarily young age, I know, but this is hardly a brag. Simply a fact about me.

Others may call it _'context'_ or an_ 'explanation' _for the person I am today, but those people would be wrong.

The experience didn't traumatise me; it was quite the opposite.

I killed a man when I was nine years old and that is when I finally began to really _see _the world around me.

I killed a man and I understood then and there what kind of _shitty _society we live in. A society that revolves around of the glorification of so-called _heroes _based on how flashy their quirks are, or how high their villain _death _toll was.

The kind of society I live in is one where everything is perceived to be black or white. Since the birth of 'quirks' there are two kinds of people. Good people (i.e _heroes) _and bad people (i.e. _villains)._

And supposedly, it is as simple as that. The duality of good and evil is as simple as night and day, and there is no room for argument.

You do bad, _you are bad._

You have a 'villainous' quirk, you are a villain.

You kill someone, you are a murderer.

But life isn't as black and white as the hero-worshipping fools around of us believe, and that is why it was my job to change that.

I would be an Unconventional Hero; I would blur the lines of morality and prove that even _Villains _can do _good _and even Heroes are _Sinners. _

When I was nine, I decided to become a Hero with the power to do good and evil. The world around me is black and white, and I, an _unconventional grey._

.

.

.

My name is Mari Yoshizawa, and I am hated by my peers.

Mari written with the kanji '真理' meaning 'rebellion' or 'truth'. An ironic but fitting name.

I am a middle schooler and I attend one of the worse public schools in the district, Aldera Junior High.

What makes this school so bad?

Well, for starters _I _attend, which makes it x10 worse if you ask any gossiping mother, but mainly it was the school's rampant bullying.

In this school there was a certain hierarchy the children had established, based on how flashy your quirk could be. People like _Bakugou Katsuki,_ who could make explosions from his hands were revered as gods while the unfortunate souls without quirks, like _Midoriya Izuku, _were stepping stools for said 'gods'.

And while it was pretty bad to not have a quirk, it was arguably even worse to have horns and a devil's tail, as well as a possession quirk. Speaking from my own experiences, of course.

I inherited my mother's quirk - a powerful albeit 'concerning' power in which I can possess someone's body whenever I make eye contact with them, for a limited time. Right now, I could probably push to about two minutes max, but doing that for so long was a risk itself. Not only would I likely have a monster headache or nosebleed, but when I possess someone I no longer have control of my own body, resulting in my body going limp like a soggy noddle until I return to my own consciousness – which, yeah, was a pretty huge vulnerability.

So, when you think about it, my quirk was actually pretty damn _weak. _

But school kids don't really get that. All they see is the red horned body snatcher and that's enough to scare them off.

You see, I wasn't quite _bullied _like Midoriya Izuku was.

No, instead, I was ignored. _Avoided. _

**_Feared._**

But that wasn't all that bad. I wasn't all that sociable to begin with, so it all worked out in the end.

And besides, it's a bit of a power trip; having some kid scared shit-less when they bump into your shoulder in the hallway.

I never cared about what kids like _Bakugou Katsuki _and _Midoriya Izuku _thought about me, anyway. In the end, they are no more remarkable than any other All Might adoring hero fanboy, brainwashed like the rest of them.

I really, _really, _didn't care. But then again, here I am.

Here I am, watching _Midoriya Izuku _fish his school supplies out of a school fountain after a certain explosive blonde set them alight and threw them out the window.

I don't care, yet I find myself calling out to him anyway.

"They don't care about people like us."

I don't bother to introduce myself, or even announce my presence, which shows because the green haired boy jumps slightly before turning to me.

Emerald green eyes bore into mine, curious yet...?

Ah.

There it is.

Curious yet _scared._

"A-are you talking to me?" Midoriya Izuku asks me. He's shivering. Is it because he's drenched or scared? I can't tell.

I sigh quietly. I really try not to roll my eyes, there's no need to antagonise him further for now. "You see any other bullied quirkless kids around here?"

Midoriya flinches at the term. As in, _he actually recoils _just from the word 'quirkless'. Sensitive spot, I suppose. He quickly adopts the expression of someone who's swallowed an entire lemon.

I stand off the wall I was leaning against and face him fully. "People like Bakugou Katsuki and his lackeys." I clarify, noticing the confusion in his eyes. My gaze lands on the red and gold keychain on his bag. "People like _All Might_. People who call themselves heroes. They don't care about the odd ones. They don't care about me, and they definitely don't care about you."

I don't know why I'm telling him this.

I don't care about him, and I doubt he'll ever really understand what I'm trying to tell him. No, definitely not. Midoriya Izuku is too timid, too self-conscious to think for himself.

If the boy looked nervous before, he now looked like he'd stepped on a _Lego _barefoot, or wore wet socks to bed, or came across a sex scene while watching a movie with his parents. He seemed_ beyond _uncomfortable.

Interestingly enough, he wasn't regarding me with the same fear he did with the notorious 'Kacchan' or with the same expression the other school kids gave me. It was a similar type of apprehension, but definitely not the same.

Nervously and after a drawn out pause, he mumbles quietly. "You're not quirkless, Yoshizawa-san."

I'm by no means surprised that he knows me. We were in the same class, after all, not to mention the 'bad rep' I have that seems to follow me everywhere.

I hum quietly, and then reply. "No, I have a quirk." A semi-powerful one too. "But I'm a creep." He winces at this, as if surprised by my abrasion. Which, _once again, _goes hand in hand with the bad rep, so it really shouldn't be a shock.

I continue, "They don't treat us like future heroes. We're villains to them, freaks and outcasts and threats to society. Cannon fodder for All Might to eliminate in the name of peace. We're _unconventional. _And they hate that."

It's obvious that Midoriya tries very hard to ignore the jabs at his favourite hero, and instead asks, "You want to be a hero, Yoshizawa-san?"

"Do I not seem heroic to you, _Midoriya Izuku_?"

He flinches again and his face visibly pales. He's shaking more now. "N-No, no, o-of course y-you _do, _Y-Yoshizawa-san-" and here it comes, the notorious Midoriya _stuttering._

Midoriya has adopted a familiar tone. The "im very scared and will say this to appease Mari" tone that most of my classmates seems to have, too.

I take a step closer to him. "What is it then, _Deku?" _I drawl out, purposely using his infamous nickname. "Do I seem _villainous_ to you?"

Of course, the answer is obvious. Ask anyone at Aldera, _hell_, anyone in _Musutafu, _and they will always answer with a resounding 'YES'.

I was a creep; a villain in the making.

_Evil._

_Demonic._

**_KILLER._**

With another step my face is only inches away from his dimpled one. I reach out to him, a single finger caressing his red cheeks. Midoriya is shaking again and he looks as if he may faint – knowing him, it wasn't improbable.

**_"Am I bad person, Deku?"_**

I hold his face in my hand for a moment, watching the way his nervous green eyes dart around me, never quite meeting my own eyes.

"W-Why are you asking me this?"

A fair question. As established previously, I didn't care about people like him. And I didn't hide this fact either. Midoriya and I were distant classmates at _best, _and I was not now, nor would I ever be, a friend of his.

"I was bored," I settle with as an answer, looking away from the green-haired boy with a sigh as I release him from my hold. Midoriya is visibly relieved when I take a step back from him.

_ "B-bored?!"_

"I wanted to see what kind of person you were – _no, _what kind of _hero _you will become." Though not intentional, the term 'hero' leaves my mouth with venom.

Midoriya undoubtedly picks up on this. His eyes, fearful, silently implore me to continue.

"I'm still yet to decide."

And with that, I take my leave, beginning to walk away. However, I pause before I do, turning to him one last time. Midoriya is in the same spot as before, looking very affronted with what I had told him.

I settle on one last comment for the 'future hero' to think about. "The quirkless hero, Midoriya 'Deku' Izuku," I begin, recalling his bold claims of going to UA in class earlier that day. I continue, "Bullied all his life, unknowing of his _secret quirk_!" I say, dramatically gesturing on the last line. Midoriya's eyes widen, clearly confused. I finish. "Yes! T_he ability of a human being to function without a spine!"_

And this, it seems, is the final nail in the coffin as the green haired boy's eyes widen and his mouth opens. It's obvious he wants to say something, _anything, _but he won't. I know he won't.

Midoriya needed to wake up.

I doubt he ever will, though.

I turn away from him once more, muttering one last final line, just loud enough for him to hear.

**"And wouldn't that make for an interesting origin story, for a Villain."**

* * *

im sorry deku i did you dirty (and not in the good way)

next ch. will be the entrance exams

((we live in a hero society, gamers rise up))


	2. MARI YOSHIZAWA WANTS TO PASS HER EXAM

MARI YOSHIZAWA WANTS TO PASS HER EXAM

* * *

Mari Yoshizawa is not the kind of person who'd bring a gun to a knife fight.

Not her own gun, at least. It's unlikely she'd ever think that far ahead.

No, it is far more likely that Mari Yoshizawa is the kind of person to steal _someone else's gun_ and then bring it to a knife fight of her own.

And this distinction is one that could be the difference between life and death, especially when you're the kid with the gun she needs.

Knowing this, it isn't a surprise to anyone that Mari Yoshizawa takes the UA entrance exams with nary but the clothes on her back and the quirk in her body.

.

.

.

She finds it funny how Bakugou Katsuki can pretend like he doesn't remember her. Knowing Bakugou (and unfortunately, she _does_) it is probably a matter of pride.

It is easier for egotistical pricks like Bakugou Katsuki to acknowledge her as nothing but a _Shitty Extra _than as a legitimate rival.

She can't help it, she outright _laughs in his face_ when he turns to her on the train and asks, "What the hell are you looking at, you _Shitty Extra!?"_

It has been ten months since she has been subjected to the scowling visage of Bakugou Katsuki and she definitely has not missed it. It's also been ten months since her sort of 'run-in' with Midoriya Izuku.

Now, she was stuck on the train with the very same Bakugou Katsuki while on the way to the UA Entrance Exams. The past ten months had been uneventful, as far as Mari was concerned.

She graduated from Aldera, but it wasn't as if she had any friends to celebrate that with (on top of that, Midoriya Izuku had seemed to regard her with even more apprehension after she spoke with him) so that passed without much fanfare. She spent most of the ten-month break training her quirk with her parents, though the results ended up being disappointing, anyway.

She sat the UA written exam two days ago (and with much confidence could say it was _piss) _but that wasn't anything exciting, either. Mari Yoshizawa was no genius, but it wasn't hard to maintain good grades when you had a curious mind and a lacking (read: _non-existent) _social life.

And that brought her to where she was now. And just for the record, she _was not _staring at Bakugou Katsuki as his ego has led him to believe – she was merely distastefully looking upon the All Might pin on the shoulder strap of his school bag.

"I'm looking at a nobody, Bakugou Katsuki." She murmurs, holding her gaze on the pin for a few more seconds before lazily glancing up at him.

"Hah!? What'd you say!?" Shouts the blonde, uncaring to the other passengers on the train. If you squint you are able to see tiny sparks on his fingertips – not enough to do any _real _damage but enough to let Mari know that Bakugou was pretty pissed off. And wasn't that quick, even for him? It seemed the always-confident Bakugou was on edge today.

Even the Gods of Aldera middle school got nervous for exams too, then?

"Lower your voice, Bakugou. I don't want to lose my hearing at 15." She says with a sigh as her tails listlessly moves back and forth behind her. Bakugou bristles like a disgruntled cat at her comment, but the tension in his shoulders does noticeably lessen as if he was just realising where he was again.

"And while you're at it, don't act so surprised that I'm here. Even Villains need to catch public transport." Her tone is joking but Mari is anything but.

If Bakugou Katsuki were like Midoriya Izuku he might've have winced at such a self-deprecating comment. Maybe, even, _if he were feeling particularly kind, _would offer some kind words. But Bakugou is not Midoriya, so all he does is scoff at her.

"Where are the devil wings?" he asks mockingly.

Mari blows a puff of air through her nose in slight amusement. "Left them at home."

And with that comment, their brief conversation dies. Or at least, that's what Mari thought (_was hoping for_) until Bakugou speaks again after a few moments.

"No matter what happens today," he begins. And somehow, Mari knows he won't finish with a line like 'we'll be friends, no matter what'. His unnervingly red eyes bore into her own dark ones, determined (or, perhaps, _arrogant _would be the more fitting word). "I _will _get into UA. And I'll be the only one from Aldera to do it."

With that brazen declaration, Bakugou speed walks to the other side of the carriage. Of course, Mari already knew that was apart of Bakugou's plan to be a hero. He made it very clear as he shouted at Deku across the classroom for even _thinking _about applying to UA.

Mari got the same talk of course too. But hers wasn't with any of his lackeys, and Bakugou looked less intimidating as he did _uncomfortable _just from talking to her.

_"Yoshizawa, you and Deku, you don't know what you're getting into… If you know what's good for you won't even show your faces at the exams."_

And while Bakugou could threaten Mari until he was blue in the face, it ultimately wasn't that scary when he couldn't look her in the eyes while doing it.

As a small mercy she hadn't run into Bakugou or Midoriya at the UA written exams, but it seems as if her luck had run out for the practical ones.

Mari watches the blonde boy stomp away from her in a huff and all she can do is sigh.

If it were any school but UA, she would think it wasn't worth the trouble. But UA was where _Heroes _were made, and a hero Mari Yoshizawa would be.

Even if it was just to prove a point.

.

.

.

Mari recognises the man who is screaming at her in broken English.

And technically he isn't _screaming, _per se, but he is still absurdly loud, unnecessarily loud for a man with a microphone.

Present Mic, the Voice Hero stands before a sea of nervous teens, all with varying levels of enthusiasm.

There are students like _Midoriya Izuku, _who's incessant chattering Mari can both hear and _recognise _from over five seats above him.

And then there are students like herself, who is idly wondering if Present Mic's quirk had an off button.

She's surprised Deku made it this far, though. Mari had honestly expected him to cower out last minute and go to an unremarkable civie school. She wouldn't go so far to say she's _proud_ of him, but she's definitely surprised.

The real challenge didn't begin until now, anyway. And if a quirkless kid manages to get into UA's hero course she would eat her own hat.

Present Mic is going on about a whole lot of nothing, until he finally introduces what they'll be doing, and Mari can hardly believe her ears.

Robots.

They were taking down Robots.

Mari Yoshizawa was not someone who panicked, but she was someone who could admit when she was _fucked. _And right now, Mari Yoshizawa was more fucked than a prostitute on a Saturday night.

There was one problem with Robots.

And that was that Robots didn't have minds you could possess - making her quirk ultimately useless. Now, normally, she'd overcome this by possessing someone else to fight them for her, or she'd outmanoeuvre them.

This was also a problem as Mari needed to take them down herself to earn any points, and she'd get nowhere by outsmarting them and running away.

Mari came to the UA exam expecting to throw around some 15-year olds like they were ragdolls. She needed a solution, _fast._

Her solution is a seemingly still prepubescent 15-year-old with dimples and mousy brown hair.

Present Mic goes on to explain the rules, including one where he allows outside support weapons, but only if they were registered with UA before the exam. As he says this, the nondescript boy seated next to her begins excitedly whispering to his friend next to him.

_"I'm so glad I bought this shock hammer, just in case!"_

Mari was glad he brought it, too.

She stands from her seat, shooting her hand up. Her chair screeches against the floor as she shouts, "Present Mic!" not bothering to wait for him to call on her.

The loud blonde, seemingly in the middle of scolding Midoriya, looks up at her and blinks at her outburst. "Uh, yes, listener?"

_I'm not your listener._

"You said we were allowed weapons, yes?"

He looks confused but nods anyway. "Sure, as long as they're approved beforehand."

"So, just to be clear, we can use any weapon that we have not brought from outside or has been cleared by UA?"

He looks a little annoyed now. "Yes, that's what I just said, **_Geez Louise,_**" he says the last words in accented English, "Kids don't listen these days, do they?"

Mari grins at him. It's a little unnerving, from the perspective of Present Mic. Her tails swishes behind her, excited.

With this, it seems her problem had been solved.

.

.

.

As soon as the students are released from the briefing, Mari makes a beeline for the brown-haired kid.

It is hard to find a face so forgettable amongst a sea of strangers, but she manages. His friend from before is nowhere to be seen as he waits in front of his testing block, doing some breathing exercises very nervously. Next to him, she can see the aforementioned shock hammer. It's not the coolest looking weapon Mari has ever seen, nor does it look all that _high-tech,_ but it'll do the job.

He doesn't notice her as she approaches (laughable instincts, from the looks of it) and the jump he does when she places a firm hand on his shoulder almost reminds her of Midoriya.

"Um-" he begins but Mari cuts him off. It'd be much faster if she did this her way.

"You're a hero, right?" She asks.

He looks incredibly nervous. His eyes dart to the tail behind her to the red horns on her head but fail to meet her own eyes. "Well, I-"

"That's great to hear! I bet a _strong _hero like you would be willing to help a girl down-on-her-luck like me!"

He's still not looking at her, rather intensely focused on staring at the ground. He does twitch at the words 'strong hero' though, so it's very clear he too has a hero complex. It's almost uncanny, how all the boys in her life seem to have the same.

"W-w-what do you need?!" he's raised his head now and puffed out his chest a bit. It reminds Mari of how a blowfish puffs itself out. _A hero full of air._

"Awesome! I need your weapon!"

_"O-of course! W-wait, what?!_

And sure, it was pretty villainous to steal another participant's weapon to do an exam, but Mari Yoshizawa figured she had to live up to her bad reputation in one way or another.

* * *

aight, y'all, new chapter. I wrote this one in third person rather than first (like the last chapter) to see which ones suit the story more. if you have any opinions on which one you like more, please let me know!

this chapter was meant to be all of the exams but i got a bit carried away at the train scene. next chapter should wrap up the exams pretty quickly. thanks for the support so far!

also mari has been pretty tame in the story thus far, expect that to change soon lmao. she's trying her best tho guys!


	3. MARI YOSHIZAWA WANTS YOUR WEAPON

i go chapter for y'all today.

well, thiccer than usual for this story at least. a lot more was supposed to happen in this, but i got carried away with bakugou's pov

next ch. should be the end of exams and mari's results and possibly when she meets shinso or todoroki (i got scenes planned, im just debating when to put them in)

* * *

MARI YOSHIZAWA WANTS YOUR WEAPON

* * *

Mari Yoshizawa is grinning down at him, and it is more unsettling than it is reassuring or charming. She doesn't smile like a hero.

Not in the way others do. Not like _All Might, _with his smile that never leaves his face, a beacon of Justice for Japan.

When people like All Might smile it says, _"It's okay now. Why? Because I'm here!"_

When people like Mari Yoshizawa smile it says, _"Something bad is about to happen. Why? Because I'm here!"_

And Mari knows this. She can tell by the way the stuttering 15-year-old in front of her won't look her in the eye, or by the shaking of his hands. Normal people weren't afraid to look heroes in the eye.

The air has shifted. Now that Mari has made her intentions clear, the boy's confidence has _deflated _considerably.

"W-w-what do you m-m-mean you need my weapon?!" the mousy boy asks, clutching the shock hammer to his chest.

And honestly, what was with it with the boys in her life and _stuttering? _She'd rather Bakugou's nervous shouting over this. And considering that this was _Bakugou Katsuki _we were talking about, that said a lot.

She dubs the boy **_Deku No. 2_** in her head. She can tell he's about to make a whole scene about this hammer thing. She drops the grin and puts a hand on his shoulder. "Look," she begins with a sigh. "Let's cut to the chase already." It has become abundantly clear to Mari that _Deku No. 2 _was the kind of boy you needed to be dealt with using a swift hand or a rough uppercut.

_Deku No. 2 _seems to almost jump out of his skin when she touches him and it is only then that he looks her in the eye (albeit very, _very, _nervously). "My quirk is possession." Mari begins, watching the way his eyes widen at this. "I can activate it at will and considering how I've already made contact with those dull little irises of yours, it is too late to resist it."

Of course, she conveniently leaves out that were he to simply stop looking at her, or even _close his eyes_ that she wouldn't be able to do _jack shit. _Not to mention that the second she possesses him she'd be down for the count, passed out on the dirty concrete floors of the UA training grounds. But he didn't need to know that, as far as Mari was concerned.

"In short," she starts again, lightly pressing her black-coated nails into his shirt. "My quirk _will _overpower you and your presumably _abysmal _quirk." Of course, this is yet another bluff, but she doubts that _Deku No. 2 _will call her out for it.

No, similar to his namesake, he would need a _spine _for that.

"W-W-What m-makes you t-think-"

She cuts him off. "Why else bring a support weapon if not to compensate for _weakness?" _and judging by the way his shoulders sag hopelessly at this, Mari presumes that she has guessed right. Once again, she conveniently leaves out the fact that if she needs it, too, that makes her weak as well.

She removes her grip from him and claps her hands together. "So, let's make this easy for both of us_._ You will willingly hand me your weapon for the exam, or you will do it unwillingly."

The tone she uses is _final_ and all _Deku No. 2 _can do is stare at her.

And then, after a few moments, he begins nervously stammering again. "_A-A-Aren't you meant to be like a h-h-hero?!"_

Which is a fair point. This was the entrance exam for the _Hero Course, _after all. But Mari doesn't say that. Instead, she asks him the same question she asked Midoriya Izuku, all those months ago. "Do I not seem like a hero to you?"

"Y-You don't a-act like one!"

At this Mari grins at him again. "Most heroes don't act like one, either."

And _Deku No. 2 _has nothing he can say to that. What remained of his resolve is now gone, crumbled to dust. "F-fine. Just take it then."

Mari was pretty good at this, she thinks. Who knew that sitting next to Bakugou in class for so long would make her such a good bully?

.

.

.

Bakugou Katsuki was not someone who got nervous.

No, why would he? Bakugou Katsuki was strong. He had a strong quirk and he'd be a strong hero – a hero that would surpass All Might himself.

He wasn't _weak _like that pathetic _Deku _or that fucking annoying Devil Bitch.

I mean, who did they think they were? Katsuki was supposed to be the only person to get into UA from Aldera. And _sure, _Deku certainly wasn't getting any further than these exams but Yoshizawa was a fucking wild card.

Katsuki really didn't like her. First of all, she was just plain fucking _creepy. _Always brooding in the classroom, not talking to anyone. Not to mention that she apparently _killed _someone.

The bitch was fucking _unpredictable. _

And Katsuki hated that.

He hated the way she'd talk to him as if he were nothing –

_"I'm looking at a nobody."_

As if he were weak –

_"I thought UA was for heroes, Bakugou."_

_(Bold fucking words from her-)_

As if he were anything like that _Shitty Deku –_

_"I'd like to see you try, Bakugou."_

He hated the way she'd never flinch away from him, or the way she would never even really _look _at him –

He hated that she scared him

He hated that she looked down on him

He hated that she made him nervous

Made his palms sweat-

And when his palms sweat, everything goes _kaboom –_

_FIRE FIRE FIRE FIRE ITS BURNINGBURNING ITS HOT_

_WHY IS SHE HERE_

_"Why do you look so surprised, Bakugou?"_

_KABOOM KABOOM KABOOM ITS RINGING IN HIS EARS_

_"Isn't this what you wanted?"_

He hated the way she acted as if nothing happened.

Katsuki wonders if she even remembers now.

.

.

.

Bakugou Katsuki does not care about Mari Yoshizawa.

He doesn't care that they're taking the same exam, he doesn't care that she's only two meters away from him, swinging some hammer around – _And since when did she need a weapon anyway? (Not that he gives a fuck about what she does)_

Nup. And he couldn't care less.

This is what Bakugou Katsuki convinces himself before the UA exams begin, nodding to himself while closing his eyes.

Initially, he closed them to block out all the useless blabbering of the extras around him and to focus on getting into a fighting mindset but in hindsight maybe he should have left them open.

If his eyes _had _been open then perhaps he would have seen the massive _FUCKING ELECTRIFIED HAMMER _that is swung at his head.

Katsuki doesn't see the hammer coming, but he does feel the rush of air near his face and then the huge swelling pain in his cheek and the minor shock going through his nerves.

The blonde's eyes fly open as he staggers back from the hit. Mari Yoshizawa stands before him again, holding the hammer in her hands and staring at him while slightly out of breath.

If Katsuki were a cartoon character, he'd imagine that there would be smoke coming out of his ears. "OI!" He roars at her, rubbing his cheek. "WHAT THE _FUCK _WAS THAT FOR?!"

He's recovered from the hit (mostly) but his cheek is still throbbing as he steps towards her. Yoshizawa, cool as ever, mutters an insincere apology and goes to walk away. Katsuki grabs the back of her collar before he can. "Don't you know how to use your own damn weapon?! You're going to _fucking _kill someone with that thing!"

His shouting has attracted the looks of other exam participants, but unlike on the train this morning he really couldn't care less about them.

Yoshizawa is unphased by the rough hold he has on his shirt. Her dark eyes watch him with obvious disinterest. "If only I could be so lucky," she mutters quietly, though she makes little attempt to prevent Bakugou from hearing. She lets out an exaggerated sigh. "I lost control of the hammer and I said I'm sorry. It's a rental, so I'm not used to it yet."

A rental? And what the fuck was that meant to _mean?_

Bakugou narrows his eyes at the girl. "Rental or not, you still _fucking _hit me with it."

For the first time in his life, Bakugou feels like he can talk to Mari Yoshizawa without avoiding her gaze. No, he is far too _outraged_ to be nervous now. The hit has pumped him full of adrenalin and he'd use that to his advantage here.

Yoshizawa gives him a listless glance. "Cry me a river, hero-boy." Is all she says to compensate for her actions.

And there she goes again. In class, it was always _you heroes _or _those heroes_. She always used the term as if it was exclusive to her. It was almost a _Us Vs. Them_ kind of tone.

She didn't talk like a hero. _She talked like a villain. _

"You wanna go or something? Is that what this is?" Bakugou, with all his newfound adrenalin confidence, asks her.

The look Mari Yoshizawa gives him is not an unfamiliar one. And he hates it.

"Going anywhere with the likes of you is on the bottom of my list of things I want to do. Incidentally, it is at the _top _of my list entitled 'Things I'd rather literally die than do'." Her words cut deep; they always do.

She forcibly removes his hand from her shirt and steps back from him. Her eyes narrow at him, black and so very, very _cold. _"Second on that list is wasting any more of my breath speaking to you." She says before leaving.

.

.

.

An alarm rings through the training grounds as students are told to get to their testing blocks. Thankfully, this gives Mari Yoshizawa a good chance to walk away from the ever-annoying Bakugou Katsuki.

She really _hadn't _meant to hit him, the hammer just _happened _to be heavier than she thought, and the blonde just _happened _to be standing where she lost control of it.

Mari wasn't so _antagonistic _that she'd hit Bakugou's face with a metal hammer just for being near her. She thought about it a lot in Middle School, but even she wasn't that evil.

And perhaps Mari would have been a little kinder had the blonde not tugged on her collar so roughly or challenged her so openly.

As far as she was concerned, Bakugou needed to be put in his place. And as much as she'd love to show him up in the exams, it seems the blonde was assigned to a different testing block.

Mari had the pleasure of being in the same block as _both _of the Dekus. Both Midoriya and the now-unarmed Deku No. 2.

Mari intended to keep a safe distance from both of them (because, _honestly, _neither were worth the trouble), but that is a short-lived plan.

**"Y-Y-Yoshizawa-san?!"**

With a sigh, Mari Yoshizawa turns to face none other than Midoriya Izuku.

The boy is obviously nervous, and he wears that ugly green tracksuit that he'd wear on the days of the Sports Festivals in Aldera.

"I-I thought that was you from the briefing… W-What are you doing here?" He nervously asks her.

She stares at him for a few moments, deciding whether it is worth it to answer him. Eventually, she does reply. "Well, I do believe you were cowering under the desk from Bakugou when I said it, but I'm applying got UA too."

Yes, her declaration to go to UA was missed by many of the students in her class under the pandemonium of Bakugou raging over Midoriya going and shouting from across the room.

Midoriya seems shocked at this (I mean, why else would she be at a UA entrance exam? It surely wasn't that improbable). "S-s-so you were serious about that hero stuff?"

Mari narrows her eyes at this. "I'm always serious." She tells him. She was determined to become a hero, that was for sure.

"I-I see..."

A tense pause passes between the former classmates. Mari takes this time to examine the ways Midoriya has changed over the past ten months.

The physical changes were obvious. Midoriya was, for lack of a better word, _ripped _now.

The other changes were more subtle. He had a quiet kind of resolve to him now and he seemed more powerful in a way different to muscle power. Though Mari can't quite explain why that is.

"I have to say, Midoriya, I must commend you for coming this far." Mari tells him after a few moments. Midoriya looks at her, surprised, but says nothing. "I didn't think you had it in you. You've certainly grown. You've even got muscles now."

Mari didn't give out compliments often, but she would give praise where praise was due. And it was quite obvious he hadn't been slacking off in the past year. Considerable growth for the quirkless kid, it was a shame he wouldn't go any further than this.

Midoriya seems nothing short of _delighted _at Mari's words. He gives her one of the widest grins she's ever seen from him. "I-I've got a spine too!" He declares nervously but still proudly.

Mari blinks at him, remembering their last conversation. She laughs quietly. "So it seems." She replies.

Another pause passes. Midoriya opens his mouth before the alarm goes again, telling the contestants to begin lining up. "Showtime," Mari says. And then, as a reward for the hard work he's put in Mari decides to throw him a bone.

"Good luck out there. _Plus Ultra, _and whatnot, Midoriya Izuku."

He grins at her.

.

.

.

**_"Just you wait, Yoshizawa-san! I'll show you all of my body on the battlefield!"_**

Midoriya says before abruptly realising what he has just boldly declared. The green boy adopts a lovely hue of red on his face.

Mari laughs at him.

* * *

aight y'all. i present to you this chapter where nothing progresses lol. next chapter will be more fast-paced hopefully. thanks for reading!


	4. MARI YOSHIZAWA WANTS TO BE STRONGER

MARI YOSHIZAWA WANTS TO BE STRONGER THAN THIS

* * *

Let it be known that Mari Yoshizawa was not someone who panicked or get nervous.

Why would she be?

She's arrogant and she knows it and she's never lost a fight in her life _(except the time that she did, but that didn't count)._

She's arrogant but for good reason.

Mari Yoshizawa is strong.

Stronger than the muttering nervous students around her, stronger than the UA Entrance Exams and stronger than_** Midoriya Izuku**_ and _**Bakugou Katsuki.**_

And if her palms begin to shake, and her hands begin to sweat, then we do not talk about it.

She is stronger than this.

_._

_._

_._

The first ten minutes of the exam are a blur of dented metal and electric shocks to Mari's nervous system. The shock hammer is almost perfect for short-circuiting the robots _(Mari spares a thought to the student who would have undoubtedly passed the exam with this, but quickly dismisses it. Anyone that weak wouldn't have a career as a hero for very long, anyway, right?)_ and most students seem to steer clear of the electric warpath she is creating through the urban simulation.

Well, all except _one,_ but she disregards the blonde boy shooting electricity from his hands and giving her two wonky thumbs-up signs as nothing more than a bug on the footpath. And judging by the fried expression on his face, she doubts she doubts her conclusion is very far off from the truth.

Mari loses track of her points after the tenth robot. The hammer feels like an extension of her own arm at this point, and it's a shame that it likely isn't built sturdy enough to make it to the end of this exam. But it's still a good thought for her costume once she's a hero student. A little girl with a huge hammer does have a certain badass aesthetic too. Maybe she could even dye the other half of her blue.

_._

_._

_._

Mari passes by another downed student without much more than a blink of the eye. She should probably help, but she's not marked on being a hero today. She's marked on how many robots she can takedown, and in the end she values the end result over anything else.

Her eyes glance over at them as she prepares to continue but she pauses at the sight. Black eyes stare intently at familiar mousy brown hair.

**"Deku No. 2,"** she mutters with distaste heavy in her tone.

It made sense that he wouldn't last very long but it was totally insensitive for his legs to be crushed under a debris pile where Mari can see him. Just plain _rude._

She should leave him behind, she's taken down her fair share of robots but who knows how much that is compared to the other contestants –

But she can't move her eyes off him. The hammer in her hand feels heavier, like a burden on her shoulders –

_(It's her fault he's injured – )_

She doesn't care, it was his fault for applying for a dangerous exam –

_(He'd be fine if he had his weapon)_

She's doing him a favour, really –

_(She left him defenceless)_

He would have undoubtedly **died **trying to become a hero -

_(She's killed him)_

With a heavy sigh, Mari makes her way over to him. She slaps his pudgy cheeks a few times to rouse him to consciousness. His eyes flutter open and close a few times before he blearily focuses his gaze on her.

"Huh? Villian-chan?"

Mari blinks at him. While that was one she certainly hadn't heard before, it was highly lacking in creativity. She slaps his face one more time, just for good measure.

"Get up, Deku No. 2, you're injured." She tells him.

He rubs his forehead a few times before replying, "That is exactly why I can't get up." He mutters. He's lost his stutter now, she's noticed. Maybe it has to do with all the blood coming out of the rock his feet are trapped under. "I'm kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place here…"

Mari scoffs at him but still takes off her gloves and begins to begrudgingly move the rock. "Lazy," she remarks.

Deku No. 2's legs are in a pretty appalling state. Fixable, for sure, but definitely broken. She tries to not tell him how gross they look out loud, from the kindness of her own heart.

"Get up," she tells him again, nudging his injured legs with her foot. "The northwest exit isn't far, you can walk."

The look he gives her is less surprised than it is _gobsmacked._ "You're gonna make me walk on broken legs?"

"Recovery girl can fix them anyway," she tells him with a dismissive hand gesture. "And if you can complain, then you can walk."

There was no way she could carry him and she really couldn't afford to waste much time with this anyway. Mari was going to get into UA, no matter what, and squabbling with whiny teens wouldn't help her with that.

"What kind of hero-"

Mari, with her patience well and truly gone, interrupts him. "Fine, if you will not do it willingly, then you will do it unwillingly."

Her dark black eyes focus on his and –

_Her world._

_Goes._

**Black**.

In a quite literal _blink of an eye_ Mari has possessed his body and is already picking up her fallen one.

With painful and shaky steps, she begins to bring his body to the first aid tent by the exit.

.

.

.

By the time Mari returns to her own body, Deku No.2's now unconscious body has been unceremoniously dumped by the first aid tent and another five minutes of wasted test time has gone by.

The girl goes to pick up her discarded hammer from where she found the boy, only to find that some asshole robot has passed through and well and truly smashed it to pieces.

She stares down at the scattered metal parts on the ground with a grimace.

To make matters worse, it is at this moment Present Mic's annoying voice is played over the speakers announcing that she only has five minutes left to score some final points.

And to make things **even more **worse, when she looks up from the ground, she finds herself staring into red eyes of a zero pointer.

For the first time in years, Mari Yoshizawa cannot seem to move. Her eyes are staring down the moving camera of the robot and _she is panicking._

She is without a weapon to use and a body to possess to fight for her.

And worse than that she cannot even run now.

_Mari Yoshizawa should be stronger than this._

When the Zero Pointer moves to slam his arm into her, Mari can do nothing more than watch.

She feels the sudden rush of pain as her body collides with the robot's, a combination of a dull ache and sharp sting that rushes through all her nerves. The pain is familiar but not comforting, like the harsh touch of a scorned old flame.

Mari feels her consciousness leave her – as she has many times before,

But this time she has nobody to retreat to.

She doesn't remember anything else when her head hits the pavement.

.

.

.

_And more often than not, Mari finds herself wondering._

_Wondering about things that could have been, and things that already are._

_Mari wonders if the things she does really make her happy._

_Mari wonders why she doesn't recognise the person that grins back at her the mirror anymore._

_Who is Mari Yoshizawa now?_

_Because she certainly isn't a hero._

_Who is she?_

_._

_._

_._

_**(she's a nobody.)**_

**.**

**.**

**.**

When Mari awakens, it immediately becomes clear to her that the exams are over. There are no shouting students around her and no Zero Pointers staring her down.

And she certainly didn't remember collapsing in a clean bed.

She sits up, duly taking note of the bandages around her stomach and arms as she looks around her. _A hospital room_, she crinkles her nose in disgust.

She shakes her head and begins to get up from the bed and _leg it the hell out of there_ when the door to the room suddenly opens and the unmistakably recognisable face of the First Aid Hero, Recovery Girl, enters the room.

"You better not be entertaining the idea of leaving before I'm finished treating you, Yoshizawa-chan."

Recovery Girl's tone is passive but the look in her eyes is anything but. Despite the woman's tiny stature and the fact that she likely has battle scares decades older than Mari herself, something in the way she holds herself tells Mari she should just sit back down.

Which, after some more mental debate, she does.

She chooses not to ask how she knew her name, either, as that felt awfully futile.

"Wouldn't dream of it," replies Mari as she settles back down in her uncomfortable sterile bed. If Recovery Girl notices the snark in her tone, then she does not say anything about it.

The old woman's eyes narrow at her. _"Good."_ Is all she says. Then she turns around and begins addressing someone Mari cannot see from her position. "That warning goes for you too, Midoriya-kun." She can hear what is unmistakably a Midoriya ashamed whimper in response to that before the green-haired boy himself shuffles into the room with his head hanging low. A majority of his body has been bandaged but it seems to have been a rushed job.

He strangely doesn't seem surprised to see Mari in the first aid room and offers her a small wave. "G-g-good to see you're awake, Y-Yoshizawa-s-san!"

_Implying you were here when I was not?_ Mari says nothing in return, merely narrowing her eyes at him.

With a huff Recovery Girl begins shooing him to the bed adjacent to hers, clicking her tongue as she does so. "Of course she is, after all the fuss you made about me treating her first, it was a sure thing she'd make a quick recovery." Sighing, she pushes the boy onto the bed and begins to unwrap his bandages. Mari doesn't bother to hide her wince. Midoriya's body is well and truly mangled, and even Mari, with her gore tolerance that is nothing to sneeze at, feels a little sick. Midoriya is an ugly shade of purple and he seems like he is more bruises than he is skin.

"Let's hope your injuries will be the same." Recovery Girl mutters quietly as she begins treating him.

A heavy silence falls upon the room.

Mari dares not speak, instead thinking of the implications of the pro-hero's words. It is only when Recovery Girl grumbles something about needing more bandages and leaves the room, that she does say something.

"You rescued me," Mari says after a few moments. It is a statement, not a question, but the unspoken _Why?_ hangs heavy in the room.

Midoriya makes what seems to be an attempt to sheepishly scratch the back on his neck, but doesn't get very far with the sling strapped to his chest. "I just happened to be there at the right time… and you looked like y-you needed h-help! So…"

**"Why me?"** she asks him.

"Huh?"

She pauses for a moment and chooses to stare down at hands, now free of the gloves she typically wears.

There are new cuts and scrapes from today, but there is also a collection ugly burns and patches of discoloured skin that still haven't heal completely, and now stay there as bitter reminders and ugly scars.

Mari shakes her head, as if to clear her thoughts. "Why save the person who wouldn't do the same for you?" she clarifies.

Midoriya seems taken aback by this. "O-Of course you would have saved me, Y-Yoshizawa-san! We're classmates!"

Mari turns to stare at him with a flat expression. _"_Midoriya." She doesn't bother with meaningless honorifics, at this point. She continues, "I was watching you in the exams. There's no way you'll pass without any points." And while she wasn't _watching _him per se, she does distinctly recall hearing his bemoaned wailing of having not taken down a single robot before running off with Deku No. 2.

And considering he was _quirkless, _it wasn't an unfair assumption to say he probably didn't take down any after that, either. "You, by no means, had the time to save me."

Judging by the way Midoriya grimaces, she judges that she is right. Despite this, he does not seem discouraged for long as he proudly retorts, "Well, at the end of the day, being a hero isn't about points… It's about saving people!"

And this, she thinks dully, is what _truly _separated her from Midoriya Izuku.

Midoriya… He was already a hero.

And Mari Yoshizawa couldn't be any damn further from that.

* * *

ngl this doesn't feel like my best work but i wanted to wrap up the introductory / exam arc so we can get into the real thick of things. next chapter should be up soon, and it will be an arc interlude featuring deku and bakugou's pov on mari in childhood! hope y'all enjoy, and thank you to everyone who has been writing such nice reviews! it really brightens my day!


	5. INTERLUDE I: BAKUGOU KATSUKI

**BAKUGOU KATSUKI WANTS TO BE FEARED**

_(BAKUGOU KATSUKI WANTS TO BE LOVED)_

* * *

If you asked Bakugou Katsuki about "childhood crushes" he would sneer at you and say he's above them, and **_why are you asking me, shitty extra, who the fuck you been talking to-_**

But like the rest of us, Bakugou is only human.

Bakugou admires a lot of the people around him, because he sees in them what he lacks in himself.

He admires his parents.

His mother, for her unrelenting resolve. His father, for his cool temperament Bakugou doesn't think he'll ever have. He admires All Might, for his strength and impact on society. He even admires that shitty **_Deku_** if only because he never really gives up on anything he does.

**_(Even though he'll fiercely deny it when you ask) _**

The lines between admiration and love are thin, though. And when you are young and dealing with all these new and quite literal _explosive emotions, _it's only natural a puppy crush would eventually be the result.

Bakugou Katsuki's childhood crush was the fiendish and arrogant Mari Yoshizawa.

This was something that did not make sense to Bakugou at the time. Because you see, it was one thing to have a childhood crush, it was another to have a childhood crush on someone who is generally avoided like the plague by everyone around them.

Bakugou never really talked to Mari Yoshizawa.

No one in his school did.

Thus, he knew very little about her. In fact, all he knew about the 13-year-old could probably be listed just on his right hand. For example;

**Mari Yoshizawa didn't like talking to people.**

This one pretty much everyone whoever met Mari knows within the first five minutes of talking to her. If you are ever so lucky enough to get a response from her, she's almost always very curt with her responses. Her body language is always cold and her eyes will rarely stare at you with anything but indifference.

Mari Yoshizawa was the kind of person who would always look _through _you, and never quite at you.

**Mari Yoshizawa was one of the few people Bakugou Katsuki could not scare.**

In their class it was more or less accepted that Bakugou had the strongest quirk and ergo, was the most powerful. Most students tended to either fear him for this (i.e. Shitty Deku) or greatly admire him for this (i.e. Also Shitty Deku).

But Mari was neither.

She certainly didn't admire him, much to Bakugou's displeasure. And she wasn't quite afraid of him, either.

No, Mari Yoshizawa simply didn't care about Bakugou Katuski.

That much was obvious by the way she would barely spare him a glance when he causes explosions around her, or the way she would mutely blink at him and then scoff whenever he told her to get out of his way.

Mari Yoshizawa was the first person in his life to treat him like he was nothing more than a bug on the underside of her shoe.

And that is a rude awakening for a cocky 13-year-old.

**Mari Yoshizawa had a strong quirk. **

The kids in their class said it was lame because she passed out when she used it. But Bakugou knew better. He had seen how strong her quirk was, experienced it first-hand.

When he was 12, he watched her hospitalise three delinquent high schoolers with their own fists.

He remembers walking home, that Shitty Deku following him when he notices her. **_(He always noticed her, always looked out for the bright pink hair on the walks home)_**

"What's Yoshizawa-san doing over there?"

Bakugou remembers scoffing at Deku's naivety. It's quite obvious from the way the older students are intimidatingly walking towards her what was happening.

Bakugou drops his schoolbag and prepares to charge to her rescue. but it appears she does not need it.

Mari collapses to the ground and a moment of quiet confusion passes as the three high schoolers stare at each other. And then, the burliest of the three uppercuts one of his lackeys.

Within the minute all participants are now passed out.

Bakugou and Izuku can only watch, mouths open, wondering what happened.

And then after another moment Mari gets up from the ground. She rubs her arms and then sighs, collecting her school bag and walking away as if nothing else happened.

Mari Yoshizawa was strong, perhaps even more stronger than Bakugou, and that both terrified and excited him.

_And finally,_

**Mari Yoshizawa seemed to be everything he was not;**

Always calm, always cool, stronger, faster, witter,

And Bakugou Katsuki loved her for that.

**_(and still did, but he ain't gonna fucking admit it)_**

And while this all seems innocent for now, when you add confusing emotions to a trigger happy and angsty preteen, it is a recipe for disaster.

There is more than one reason Bakugou Katsuki does not talk about childhood crushes.

It is not just because he is embarrassed, but because he is ashamed.

He finds is hard to look Mari Yoshizawa in the eyes nowadays, but for all the wrong reasons.

* * *

aight small lil chapter from bakugou's perspective of mari as a child! the tldr of this whole thing is basically being a teenager sucks because feelings get in the way :( poor tsun bakugou

anywho, expect one more small interlude for izuku in the next few days and then the UA arc will begin!

please let me know if there's anything in the story you'd like to see or any criticism and feedback you have or any general thoughts about the story! i'd really love to hear from you all! other than that i hope you all have a good day :D


	6. MARI YOSHIZAWA WANTS BETTER CLASSMATES

MARI YOSHIZAWA WANTS BETTER CLASSMATES

* * *

"What about participant #137? _Mari Yoshizawa?"_

A scoff. Aizawa steps off the wall he leans on. "What of her?" He says back. He tries to not look Vlad in the eye as he does this, as the pro-hero tends to get a rather ugly vein on the right side of his head whenever they go toe-to-toe. And judging by the hopeful way he looks over this student's written exam, it seems they will undoubtedly be butting heads over her.

"Which hero class should she be put in?" He continues.

Aizawa knows where this is going. He's been a teacher for a while now, been a _hero_ for even longer. _"Neither." _Aizawa firmly tells him.

Vlad is a hero, too, and knowing how much he cares for his students, this Mari Yoshizawa is a sure-to-be charity case for him. A delinquent student with an almost perfect score? Aizawa can already hear Vlad's protests of "I bet I could make her something great".

"She's a flight risk, Vlad. She _stole another student's weapon and possessed his body," _Aizawa tells him. It's annoying that he even has to say this out loud. It's quite obvious that top scorer or not, UA could never take in someone like this. It was asking for the worse. "That's not what _heroes _do. So forget about her being your pet project or whatever."

And there it is, the infamous _ugly vein. _"Pet project?! You're judging her too harshly, Shota!" _God forbid the judges' panel do anything like that, right?_

Vlad makes a gesture towards the scoreboard. "She got a perfect score! 99 villian points is nothing to sneeze at!"

"And one rescue point!" chirps Yamada from across the room.

"Exactly!" says Vlad. "That's one more than that _Bakugou Katsuki _who's to be in your class, you know!"

Ah yes. The other bombshell Aizawa was to deal with. But the angry blonde was salvageable, at the very least.

"Bakugou Katsuki didn't use _dirty tricks _to pass the exam."

"Technically, everything she did was within our rules." Adds in Principal Nezu, unhelpfully. "And considering the nature of the girl's quirk, you might even call her resourceful."

Aizawa turns to him. "Is being a hero only about the ends justifying the means then?" he retorts. He crosses his arms over his chest and looks away. "This student is bad news, that's all I'm saying."

This wasn't like him. Usually, he couldn't care less about what students he'd get. He'd probably expel them anyway.

But this? This _Mari Yoshizawa _girl? He didn't like this. His gut told him he was making a mistake. And Aizawa only lasted this long as a hero by trusting his gut.

Nezu calmly takes a sip of his tea. A tense pause falls over the heroes and finally, "Then you take her, Shota."

Aizawa can only stare at him blankly in response.

"Think of it like, a _trial run _or a probation period. Take Mari Yoshizawa on and see if she has any potential. That's what you always fail students for, right?" Nezu takes another sip.

Beady black eyes narrow on Shota. "Because you cannot tell me a student with practical and written scores higher than _All Might's _does not even deserve a chance to prove herself."

And as it often goes, Aizawa cannot argue with anything Nezu says. With a grumble, he moves his scarves to his mouth. _"One chance. _That's all she gets."

Behind his desk, Nezu smiles. "That's all I ask for."

.

.

.

Mari Yoshizawa hums thoughtfully with her ear pressed against the door to the Principal's Office of UA. "What a convenient time to get lost on the way to the bathroom," she mutters before stepping away with a grin.

She walks down the hall with a skip in her step. "What a wonderfully bad choice you've made, **_Shota-sensei_**_."_

_._

_._

_._

Her acceptance letter arrives in the mail three weeks after the exam and nobody is surprised.

She skims over most of it and grimaces at the tacky All Might hologram that is displayed in her bedroom.

Despite this, Mari manages a smile.

She places the letter and all it's many pages down on her bed very gently. Then, she calmly gets up and strolls to her balcony. It is the evening now, and a cool and calm breeze hits her face, brushing unkempt pink hair on her cheeks.

"This is where it all begins," she says softly, talking to no one in particular. "I'm going to be a hero," she says.

Mari Yoshizawa inhales deeply. Then,

"WHO'S THE VILLAIN NOW, FUCKFACES?!" she shouts at the top of her lungs, undoubtedly pissing off her entire neighbourhood before she calmly steps back inside her room and closes the balcony door behind her.

_Spoken like a true hero, Mari._

.

.

.

Mari Yoshizawa doesn't know how to describe her classmates.

It's is only the first day, and she's been in the classroom for less than five minutes so she's reluctant to declare them all idiots and weirdos, but the evidence is pretty damning.

For starters, the electric boy who fried himself like KFC chicken during her exams is sitting on top of her desk (in the hero program for _god knows _what reason) and asking her about her favourite _condiment. _

"I mean, ketchup is good, right? But it doesn't quite have the zing of _sweet chilli-"_

Mari Yoshizawa is highly against speaking to him, but knows if she does not stop him now there is the very real possibility of him going on for all of eternity. "Do you always talk utter nonsense to those you just meet or am I just lucky?"

Surprisingly, KFC boy does seem to have some self-awareness as he pinkens slightly at this and nervously rubs the back of his head. "Sorry, you're just kind of cute and I-"

Mari blinks at him. _Cute? _That was a new one.

Usually she got _Creepy _or _Freakish. _But never cute. Had the definition of 'cute' changed over the years among her age group and she hadn't noticed? Like how being _sick_ is now a good thing –

"You don't find me scary?" she asks him dubiously.

He chuckles nervously again. "Um, should I?"

_"Yes."_

And before KFC boy can respond, the door is opened and Mari Yoshizawa is **_very, very _**surprised to the see the freckled and familiar face of Midoriya Izuku. _Quirkless _Midoriya Izuku.

_"What the fu-"_

After speaking briefly to a brown-haired girl, he takes notice of Mari, openly gaping at him from across the classroom. He waves and then quickly makes his way over to her. "Yoshizawa-san! We're in the same class! What a coincidence!"

However, Mari is far too _gobsmacked _to indulge in petty small talk today. "How are you here?" is all she says to him.

He laughs slightly. "I guess I got lucky!" he tells her.

Mari stares at him blankly. _"Luck." _She repeats, unbelievingly. "You're quirkless, Midoriya, how on earth-"

And just to make things even more confusing, the brown-haired girl immediately springs to life, claiming, "Plain face isn't quirkless! He saved me in the exams with his quirk! It was really cool! He was all like _whoosh_ and _kaplow!"_ she makes an excited punching gesture with her hands.

Midoriya sheepishly chuckles at this. "I-It, uh, d-developed over the ten-month break!"

Mari Yoshizawa just… stares at him.

Just months before the exams Midoriya developed a quirk, _nine years late? _It all seemed a little too… convenient… but she supposes it doesn't really make a difference to her.

"I see…" is all she says in the end.

Mari could only imagine how Bakugou would take this news –

"HAH?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE, DEKU?!"

Perhaps she spoke too soon, for even thinking Bakugou's name seems to summon him these days. Her eyes go to the raging form of Bakugou in the classroom doorway. She stares at his UA uniform distastefully. It seems her nine years of schooling with the troublesome Bakugou Katsuki and Midoriya Izuku would not end at high school.

Maybe she was cursed to be surrounded by idiots.

"K-Kaa-chan! You g-got in, too! C-c-congratulations!"

_Oh, Spineless Deku. I thought we left you in middle school._

Bakugou, a man of his fists rather than words, charges up to her desk and begins shouting at Midoriya, grabbing a fistful of his shirt and shaking him angrily. A grossly cliched bullying move, but Mari supposes it's not her place to judge.

It seems Katsuki has not noticed Mari in his blind rage, for which she is grateful for. KFC boy leans over to her. "Hey, this is getting pretty heated, maybe we should get out of here?"

Amused, she replies, "What for?"

"It's bad luck to get into fights on the very first day, you know! Especially with a wild-looking guy like that!"

Mari hums quietly and looks at Bakugou again. Another student has now joined the fray, a stiff-looking boy with blue hair and glasses who seems to be unsuccessfully trying to defuse the situation.

"I don't know about that." She tells the KFC boy. "The last time I took on Bakugou I didn't seem to have any trouble."

"You know that guy?!"

_"Unfortunately."_

It is at this moment the raging thunderstorm that is Bakugou Katsuki takes notice of the girl whose desk he is threatening a boy on top of. Red, blazing irises meet Mari's in confusion and then rage again.

_"YOSHIZAWA-"_

Thankfully, this is when the glasses boy from before manages to finally be heard, shouting, "THIS IS HIGHLY INAPPROPRIATE FOR THE CLASSROOM" while gesturing wildly. He goes onto a long lecture about respect for UA and the heroes that were taught here, which unsurprisingly shuts the closet hero-worshipping Bakugou up.

The rest of the class seems to quieten down, too. Bakugou grumbles but returns to his desk without much more of a fight. As does KFC Boy and Midoriya. It is only then that a teacher in an ugly yellow sleeping bag appears from behind the teacher's stand, seemingly having been there the whole time and had slept through the ruckus of all the students.

The hobo resembling man introduces himself as _Aizawa-sensei, _the man who is supposedly to be her homeroom teacher, but in such a way that makes it as if it seems he'd rather be anywhere else but here. _Same, teach._

Mari narrows her eyes on him. This was him, then? The man who dubbed her a 'flight risk' and called her unworthy to be a hero?

Oh, she would have fun proving him wrong.

Aizawa-sensei does not bother going into any detail about the curriculum or course, merely pulling out a gym uniform form his sleeping bag. "Here's your first task. Put your gym uniforms on and go to the P.E grounds. I _will not _tolerate any tardiness."

A training exercise on their first day? Unusual, but Mari doesn't question it.

Mari reaches into her school bag and absentmindedly fiddles with the blue fabric of her gym uniform.

"One chance, huh?" she mutters to herself quietly.

_Time to put on a show, then._

* * *

I know i said I would do a deku interlude next, but it turns out I'm a lying liar who lies (smh me) I did write a lil smth smth for our brocolli boy but I feel like it'd fit better a little later in the story, like after the USJ Incident. So no interlude for today! Just another chapter where nothing happens lol.


	7. MARI DOESN'T WANT TO BE A VILLAIN

ah yes,,, another chapter that's basically just dialogue,,, _perfect_

* * *

MARI YOSHIZAWA DOESN'T WANT TO BE THE VILLAIN (anymore)

* * *

_(then why is she like this?)_

.

.

.

Call it _paranoia, _but Mari Yoshizawa gets feeling that her new _sensei _really doesn't like her at all.

Maybe, it is because of what she overheard; him calling her a _flight risk _student with no chance of being a hero, or _maybe_ it is because of the way she can feel his void-like and bag heavy eyes drilling holes in the back of her head as she approaches the training ground.

Unsurprisingly, she is stuck with KFC Boy yet again, as the blonde boy (now donned in the blue of the UA Gym Uniform) blabbers on next to her about his favourite video games, or something. Though the topic does vaguely interest her, she tries to not give him any ideas of false hope by further engaging him in any way.

She barely hears what he says, anyway, as she blankly regards not only the piercing stare of her new teacher, but the murderous stares of Bakugou Katsuki, and the poorly masked and curious stares of Midoriya Izuku.

Honestly, what was it with everyone today? Did Mari have a giant arrow above her head, saying 'PLEASE STARE AT ME FOR AN UNCOMFORTABLE AMOUNT OF TIME' that she didn't know about? It would explain a lot.

Other than that, nothing more of note happened since she left the classroom. The girls in her class all exchanged names in the locker rooms and she muttered a listless "Mari Yoshizawa" as an introduction of herself when faced with a barrage of excited teenage girls.

The other girls explained their names with eagerness, and added a few things or 'fun facts' about themselves, like their favourite food or hobbies. It was all too _pedestrian, _in Mari's humble opinion.

The day she introduced herself like that, please set her on fire.

Not only was it incredibly _boring _in her mind, but it also just seemed kind of, let's say, _off-kilter_, for her personality. She couldn't very well approach her new classmates saying, "Hi, my name is Mari Yoshizawa, I'm 15 years old, I'm technically a convicted killer and my favourite food is banana pancakes with blueberries on top! "

No, saying those kinds of things is what made people avoid you. Made them fear you. _(Despise you)._

And while she could have been as antisocial and unapproachable as her heart so desired in middle school, UA was a different story. These weren't just _classmates; _they were _future heroes. _Future connections Mari needed to have in order to be successful.

… Much to her displeasure.

She gives the blonde walking next to her a side glance. He's still going on, completely unhindered by her previous indifference to everything he'd been going on about.

"So, just on story and combat alone, the _Yakuza _series has gotta be in like, my top 10 of all time ya know? And compared to games like –"

Mari cuts him off and decides to throw the annoying blonde a bone.

"I like the _Yakuza _series too."

A low effort contribution to the conversation, but KFC Boy looks ecstatic regardless. _"You do?!" _He shouts back with such unbridled glee that Mari almost regrets saying anything in the first place.

_Almost._

As if noticing how worked up he was getting, KFC boy quickly clears his throat. "Ahem, I mean, uh-" he pauses for a moment, recomposes himself and then turns to her again. He runs a hand through his hair. "What a coincidence. Perhaps it's fate that –"

And before Mari can interrupt him yet again, telling him, _'you're ruining it, stop trying to be cool' _Aizawa-sensei beats her to it.

"Yoshizawa-san." He calls out to her, in the same monotone or laissez-faire way he always seems to speak. Despite his indifferent tone, he sounds _extraordinarily pissed off._

Which, in Mari's opinion, was jumping the gun a bit, as she hadn't even done anything to annoy him all that much _(yet.)_

She turns to the man and deliberately keeps her expression stoic. "Yes, sensei?" She says, and for once a condescending lilt isn't added to it.

He moves his finger. A simple, yet enormously ominous gesture for her to come up to him. Which she does, though with great trepidation.

It is only the two of them now as the rest of the class continues walking to the training grounds. "I watched your exams, Yoshizawa." He tells her. She notices there's no honorific used this time. Mari continues watching him wearily. "I wanted to have a word with you about them."

The phrasing makes it sound like she has a choice, but the way his narrowed black eyes stare down at her imply the opposite.

"Oh." Is all Mari can find herself saying.

God, what was it now? There were a million ways this could go, and Mari didn't like any of them.

Was this about the _stolen weapon _she used? Or boy she made walk on _broken legs? _Or the countless contestants groaning and withering in agony who she just _ignored? _Or even, the weakness that she displayed? The _cowardice? _Letting herself be rescued by _quirkless _Deku, of all people? Or was it –

"Listen –" He starts, and she _really, really _doesn't want to.

She cuts him off, "There goes your word, sensei."

Aizawa barely acknowledges her joke (though, _really, _she wasn't kidding). Unperturbed, he continues. "Why are you here?"

And wasn't that a loaded question?

**_Why am I here? _**

She narrows her eyes at him. "Same reason as everyone else, I imagine." She says simply. "Because you asked us to gather outside for our first test."

**_Why am I here? _**

"You know that's not what I meant, Yoshizawa." He replies with a sigh. "Why are you here, at UA? Why the hero course?"

**_Why am I here? _**

And at this Mari does scoff, if only to ease her own tension a bit. "Isn't that obvious?" The blank stare he gives her in response says that it _is not. _"I'm here to be a hero."

**_Why am I here? _**

All her teacher says in response to that is, _"Why?"_

Mari can feel something in her _snap. _Like an elastic band that had been stretched too thin, or a woollen sweater that has been pulled by all it's frays. "Why, _why, __**why?**__" _She says back, much louder than she was before. "Sensei, you sound like a broken record!" Her finger is pointed at him, accusingly and her other hand is placed on her hip. Mari can feel her anger bubbling up inside her, like _pure hot magma._

"Did it ever occur to you, _teach, _that I'm here because I didn't want to be the villain anymore?!" She's shouting now, making a scene for sure, and she's suddenly very glad her classmates aren't here to witness this.

She pokes his chest roughly. "Did it ever occur to your small-minded brain that for once I wanted people to be looking at me for the right reasons? Did it occur to you that I'm here because I want to be called a hero, **_because I want to help others?!"_**

She's sick of it.

Sick of having to explain herself.

Sick of being the bad guy,

Sick of being the villain in everyone's stories, even her own.

**_Why am I here? _**

**_I DON'T KNOW STOP ASKING ME I DON'T KNOW _**

Mari stops and steps back from him, her chest heaving and her throat hurting from shouting so loudly for the first time in a while. This wasn't like her. She didn't get angry. She didn't lose her temper, _villains were the ones who got angry._

**_HEROES DON'T GET ANGRY, THEY GET EVEN _**

Aizawa doesn't show any reaction to her outburst. His gaze on her sharpens; something fierce. "If you're truly here to be a hero, _Yoshizawa, _then you should start acting like it." Is all he says before walking away.

And how many times had she heard _that? _Who was it who decided how heroes should _act, _anyway? That was the stupidest thing she ever heard. The word _heroic _had no defined parameters. What seemed heroic to one could be villainous to another. And every time a _hero _wins a so-called _villain_ loses, but who cares about them anyway, right?

It didn't make any _sense. So why did people keep saying that to her?_

It is only when she turns to watch Aizawa leave that she takes notice of KFC Boy, who had seemingly been waiting up for her and Aizawa to finish talking. Their eyes meet, cold black to curious electric gold, and she says nothing.

She walks past him and he just blinks at her. Then, he quickly joins her side again asking, "What the hell was that about? Aizawa-sensei looked _freakin terrifying _just then!"

Mari buries her anger and lets out a small scoff. "It was about the arrogance of modern heroes." She says and though KFC Boy does give her a questioning look, he doesn't say anything.

.

.

.

When they all gather at the grounds Aizawa goes on to explain that they will be assessing quirks today. He says the lowest scoring student will be immediately expelled and Mari ignores the way his gaze rests on her as he says this.

Unfortunately for Mari, this is _yet another _exercise where her quirk can do _diddly-squat _but she's not worried about getting kicked out of UA anytime soon. No, for as much as her new sensei likes to talk _big, _at the end of the day that's all it is. _Talk._

She doesn't think he'd ever risk expelling the student who is most likely to "switch sides", to put it in the nicest way.

The first one or two exercises continue without any more headaches until Bakugou, who'd been quietly grumbling and glaring at her from across the field for most of the morning finally approaches her.

_"Yoshizawa-san." _He says in that gravely way that Bakugou says everything and thinks it sounds cool _(and it kind of does, but). _Mari thinks she's getting pretty sick of the annoyed way people drawl her name out like that.

She glances at him, but dares not show him anything but cool indifference. Heaven forbid she show any emotions around Bakugou, lest he blow up in her face about it.

"I don't know how you, or that _quirkless _Deku got in," he begins, and _oh boy, _Mari could see where this was going. "But I'm not going to let either of you get in my way now. The past is the _past, _so don't go bringing up things that don't matter anymore."

_Ah. _That's what this is about. Mari glances down at the gloves on her hands and then looks up at Bakugou with a wry grin. "When have you ever known me to bring up _meaningless _things?"

And though Bakugou's 'tough guy' façade is on in full force, Mari doesn't miss the flinch he makes at her words. He opens his mouth to say something, but surprisingly, KFC Boy (who, _honestly, _she'd forgotten was still there for a moment) speaks first. "This guy seems like a total _dick," _He says and the only reason Mari doesn't openly _snort _at this, is because it'd be far too out of character for her.

"HAH?!" Comes the eloquent reply of Bakugou Katsuki. "And who the hell do you think you are?!"

Mari finds the situation incredibly amusing up until the point that KFC Boy puffs out his chest and replies, "I'm her _friend!" _

A normal declaration among classmates, for sure.

But that was anything but the norm for Mari Yoshizawa.

_"We're not friends, KFC Boy," _is what she should be saying, but she finds herself unable to speak. **_Friends? _**

**_We were friends?_**

A loud snort of disbelief from Bakugou snaps her out of her thoughts. "Hah!" He says again, as if he was on a breakthrough, like a detective who was about to blow a case wide open. "Yoshizawa-san doesn't have any friends, _you idiot-"_

And while Mari feels like she should be insulted by that remark, she finds herself agreeing with him in her mind.

Mari didn't do _friends. _Just like she didn't do cutesy introductions, or talk about her favourite condiments. She just … _didn't._

KFC Boy doesn't share the same sentiment as Mari, though. In fact, he seems almost _scandalised _but what Bakugou is implying. "No _way, _man!" He says. "We _bonded!"_

Mari thinks she's said about… two sentences to him in her entire life.

Bakugou doesn't seem to believe in their 'bond', either. He crosses his arms over his chest. "Knowing _her," _and should she be offended by the way he jabs a finger in her direction like its an accusation? "She probably doesn't even remember your name!"

_"Of course she does!" _replies KFC Boy, unhindered by the smug stare of Bakugou. He turns to her. "Isn't that right, 'Zawa-chan?!"

_Shit. _

She's meant to be nice at this new school, she thinks. And she does _vaguely _recall him introducing himself. "It's…. uh… K…. K…K…"

It definitely started with K, that much she was sure of. It was the part that came _after _that which was the issue.

_"Yes! 'Zawa-chan! Atta girl!"_

"K…K... KFC Boy…" she finally decides on.

. . .

Silence, for a few moments.

Then,

"WHO THE HELL IS THAT?!"

Said by _both _blondes in front of her, with varying levels of offence.

_"Was I close?" _

KFC Boy seems extraordinarily depressed and Bakugou is _laughing._ Amidst all the madness she feels the tug of her gym uniform sleeve and turns to see a sheepish looking Midoriya Izuku.

"It's Kaminari, Yoshizawa-san…" he whispers to her.

"Oh," she says aloud. "Is it too late to change my answer?"

_"YES!"_

"Oh."

.

.

.

After _Kaminari _spends a few more minutes lamenting his "friend's" inability to remember his name, the rest of the exercises continue as normal. That is, until Midoriya and Aizawa have a showdown and Midoriya breaks _all the bones in his finger _proving him wrong. It was almost kind of cool, the speech he gives him. Super gross, but kind of cool.

And then, of course, Bakugou _pops the fuck off _and begins shouting at him about his quirk. Which, _honestly, _Mari doesn't blame him for. After all these years and seeing Midoriya's "quirk" after so, so _long, _she kind of wants to grab him by the shirt and demand an explanation, too. One better than "I got lucky" at least.

But don't let anyone say that she doesn't have more emotional control than Bakugou Katsuki, because she is not the one to attack Midoriya during school hours.

Aizawa restricts him with his strange _metal scarf _things (which, _wow, _Mari thought that she dressed _edgy _sometimes, but that really takes the cake) and then reveals the test scores.

Unsurprisingly, Mari is the last student. And though she knows this test ultimately doesn't mean anything, the sting of failure still hurts.

KFC Boy is next to her again, and he's whispering to her that _"we can talk to the principal, don't worry" _when Aizawa announces that it was all a lie, and a 'logical ruse' he uses on all his students.

Though, somehow, Mari gets the feeling that he would kick her out the first chance he gets, were he allowed to. And the fact that he _didn't, _he either saw something in her... or perhaps she was more dangerous than he had realised.

Class is dismissed for the day, though the burden of disappointment hangs on Mari's shoulders until she leaves the school gates.

.

.

.

She notices Midoriya talking to a few other students in front of the school, and in a bout of Mari patented antisocialness she exits the school through the back to avoid talking to them.

She breathes a sigh of relief when it looks like she's completely avoided the rest of her classmates but that relief is short-lived as she turns around and comes face to face with KFC Boy once more.

"You sure were lucky today, 'Zawa-chan!" he says to her with what Mari would call a genuine smile were she not such a sceptic.

She stares at him and does not say anything for a moment.

**_Why am I here? _**

"Why do you keep trying to be my friend?" she asks him.

Mari doesn't like guessing, doesn't like wondering what goes on in the heads of others. Straight forward question, straight forward answer.

Kaminari blinks at her, but he doesn't seem all that surprised by what she's asking. "Umm… do you want a nice reason or the real reason?"

Mari gives him blank stare. "What do you think?"

Kaminari is the most nervous she's ever seen him, and he's gone a bright shade of _red _as he twiddles with his fingers. Then, "Ok, um… I'm really into chicks with pink hair!" he declares with a thumbs up. _"The tail and horns are super sexy too!"_

Mari finds herself genuinely speechless. "I –" she stammers. She tries to compose herself, but she can hardly take the man who is grinning at her in front of her seriously. "If that's your real reason, _I'll hit you."_

"Hey! Hey!" he raises his hands in defence. "That was what started it! But, you're actually a really cool gal when you, ya know, actually speak!" He declares and Mari can hardly believe her ears.

"And when you're not doing that scary thing with your eyes – uh, yeah, kind of like you're doing now – you seem like a really nice person to be friends with!"

All Mari can do is echo his words. "_Friends?" _she replies in disbelief. There's that _word _again.

"Yeah, totally! Well maybe more later but we'll see how that goes, heh!"

"You actually _want _to be friends with me?" Mari asks again. It was just so… inconceivable. All her life people have wanted to avoid her, not befriend her.

He grins at her; something blight and blinding. "Yep! And all I ask in return is that you remember my name this time!" His tone is joking but Mari's face goes very grim very quickly.

KFC Boy gives her a suspicious look. "You _do _still remember, right?"

"…"

KFC Boy sighs. "'Zawa-chan, we just went over this in first period…"

Mari pauses. "… Calamari." She settles on, after a few seconds of thought.

Kaminari blinks at her. Then he laughs, the sound pleasantly echoing around her. "You know what? I'll take it. It's close enough, anyway."

He gives her another grin. "But yeah, let's try being friends! It might do you some good to be hanging out with dudes other than that Bakugou! He has as much charm and tact as a doorstop, ya know."

He laughs again, and Mari finds herself laughing too.

It occurs to her that she's never laughed with anyone before. Not like this.

It's a nice sound, she decides.

Laughing with a friend, that is.

* * *

can y'all tell how much of a slut i am for italics in this chapter (i actually have an addiction wtf)

anywho, hope you guys enjoyed! also, next chapter: shinso enters ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

AND bonus! thiccer chapter than usual because im a whore for simplord kaminari denki and don't know when to finish things (also,,, god knows why this boy got a whole ass chapter about him when he orginally wasn't even a love interest smh me)


	8. MARI YOSHIZAWA WANTS TO STOP PASSING OUT

MARI YOSHIZAWA WANTS TO STOP PASSING OUT

* * *

Having a friend isn't _so _bad, she supposes.

Or at least, not as _world-shattering _or annoying as she expected it to be. (Tentatively, she might even say it was _nice.) _

For what Mari Yoshizawa had been bracing herself for all last night, her second day at UA started off pretty okay.

The train ride to school was normal enough, she sat down with her headphones in as Bakugou (who, somehow, _inexplicably, _always ended up on the same train as her to school no matter the times she takes it, even when she went to Aldera) glared at her from across the carriage.

She walked to the school pretty much alone, only having to endure a few polite smiles and heads nods from her new classmates as she went, and was joined by her new _friend _Kaminari Denki (yes, she made sure to remember this time, even going so far as to messily write it on the inside of her hand in case she forgot) as she entered the UA building.

Kaminari would talk about meaningless things on the way to the classroom, Aizawa would enter, grumpy as ever, and Deku would nervously glance at her from across the room until she would turn her head to glare at him suspiciously and he would offer a sheepish and embarrassed wave in return. At which point, the teacher of that class would shout at him.

This became somewhat of a routine for the first few classes of the day (one of which, she learned, was broken English lessons taught by loudmouth Present Mic, _much to her displeasure) _until lunchtime rolled around.

Kaminari, who surprisingly, _still hadn't gotten sick of her, _invited her to lunch with a handful of her other classmates. And perhaps, were things a little different, she might've taken him up on that offer, if not for -

"Bakugou pisses me off and I don't want to sit with him," she says simply, eyes narrowing on the wild spikes of Bakugou's blonde hair that she can spot for her position.

Kaminari blinks at her, _and then he laughs, _which Mari does not understand because she was, by no means, kidding.

"He'll ruin my meal," she adds, clarifying just how serious she was about this. Despite her efforts, this only seems to make Kaminari laugh more.

"You guys really have a lot of middle school beef, then? I figured as much by the way he stomped over to us like an angry troll in an RPG yesterday, but I didn't think it was mutual." Kaminari says, staring at her curiously.

Mari takes a moment to imagine Bakugou as a large, brutish troll and nods, finding the analogy quite fitting.

She doesn't say this aloud, though. Instead, she says, "I have no _beef _with him." And at the dubious look Kaminari gives her, she continues. "It is he who has an entire damn horde of _cattle _with me." She says with a scrunch of her nose.

"Right," says Kaminari, though his expression is unbelieving. "Well, why does _he _have cattle with _you, _then?"

A nosy question. If it were anyone else she'd tell them it wasn't their business and that they could politely _fuck off _but Kaminari is her friend. Or meant to be, at least. And friends tell each other things like this, she thinks.

Mari looks down at her gloved hands currently holding her lunch tray.

_"And just where the hell have you been?!" _

_"What's it to you?" _

She pauses, trying to think of the right things to say.

_"I love you." _

**_"I don't care."_**

She feels like she's on fire, and her throat is _burning, burning, burning. _Someone has stuffed burning hot coals in her mouth, and when she tries to speak nothing comes out but _cold ash and blackened soot - _

She swallows. By the way Kaminari is looking at her, it becomes clear that she has not spoken for a very long time.

Finally, she settles on, "Middle school drama. It really isn't all that interesting."

And though Kaminari doesn't comment on the unnaturally long pause it takes her to reach that conclusion, he does give her a stare that says he's seen straight through her. For someone she considered a condiment loving idiot, the look on his face was far too _knowing _for Mari's liking.

Still, perhaps she is worrying for nothing, because all the blonde does is let out a neutral sounding, "Huh." before suggesting that they sit at an empty table together.

Kaminari spends the rest of lunch discussing his favourite video games, a common ground between the two that Mari doesn't mind enduring his babbling about.

.

.

.

As mentioned before, Mari's day was going _pretty okay, _until Heroics Class.

The class, like the name implied, would cover hero training and exercises (_which, _Mari had no issues with, and would probably _enjoy _beating up her classmates in the name of training-) that sounded well and good, until the herculean figure of _Toshinari Nagi, _Japan's _Symbol of Peace, All _**_fucking _**_Might _walks through the door.

Well, he doesn't so much as _walk _as he does obnoxiously announce that he is entering while hanging off the door hinges.

There are excited gasps and murmurs amongst the classroom as he announces that he would be their teacher for the year.

Mari wants to disappear into her desk. Or perhaps, crawl through the cracks of the tiles of the classroom and never return.

She knew he'd be a teacher here, it was announced in her acceptance letter, but she didn't think she'd be so _unlucky _that he would be teaching her class.

Foolishly, Mari spares a glance at her old classmates Midoriya and Bakugou, wondering how they would take this news of meeting their longtime idol. Bakugou wears the same scowl he always does, but he seems significantly more pleased than usual (a tough differentiation to make from his regular expressions, but you get the hang of it after a few years) and Midoriya seems surprisingly... Calm, almost?

He still has that stupid grin on his face that he usually has when analysing heroes, but considering it's _All Might _Mari expected a response far less tame than that. Just the fact that Deku isn't passed out and/or crying right now was unusual in itself.

Deku doesn't even seem _surprised, _strangely. Almost as if he expected this.

And even stranger is the slight nod he gives All Might (a nod Mari likely would have missed were she not already watching him for his expressions).

Did they … know each other?

Nah, that's just impossible, right?

I mean, if Deku did happen to meet All Might randomly on the street, there's no way he'd be able to shut his mouth about it the next day at school.

_Curiouser and curiouser… _

Mari doesn't have much time to think about it as she looks up again and her black eyes meet the piercingly blue eyes of All Might's. He smiles at her, knowingly, and she hates it.

The hero goes on to explain that they would be having a training exercise today, and Mari's mind is far too occupied on that damn _smile _than to join her classmates in the excited murmurs about their hero costumes.

She grabs her costume and leaves the classroom, trying very hard to not think about the piercing blue eyes burning a hole in the back of her head as she does.

.

.

.

"Woah, Mari! That's an... interesting choice?"

_"Shut up, Kaminari." _

Indeed, _interesting _was describing her hero costume in the nicest way.

Mari had picked out something practical in her request, choosing subtlety over anything else. In fact, her costume wasn't even meant to _look _like a costume. She'd requested civilian looking clothes with a few modifications in order to blend in and sneak up on her enemies. After all, her quirk worked best when the opponent wasn't even aware that you were a threat.

She specifically asked for _nondescript _so somebody please explain to her how the fuck a skin-tight sleeveless _bodysuit _was nondescript.

Mari finds a small pink note attached to the side of the BDSM looking travesty when she first puts it on, but that leaves her with more questions than answers.

It read, "Your costume was boring. I did some adjustments, you can thank me later" in chicken scratch handwriting, signed off with a lopsided heart and_ "Hatsune Mei, support student"_ written on the bottom.

Mari crumbles the paper in her hand. What was the _point _of drawing up designs if the support course wouldn't even follow through with them?

_At the very least, _all the modifications and support items she requested seemed to be there. Attached to the black bodysuit was a frighteningly batman-esque utility belt, with the rope and knock out gas she requisitioned. Rope, for tying herself up in when possessing a body, knock out gas, because unconscious targets were easier to posses than conscious ones (as long as their eyes don't roll back) and some bandages, in case things got messy.

Typically, Mari wouldn't think twice about useful gear or medical supplies, but the Entrance exam gave her a rude awakening and she definitely didn't want to experience such a horrible feeling of _helplessness _again.

And, _of course, _there was one last item, but she kept that tucked away in her long white high heel boots, keeping it as a hidden ace up her sleeve if need be.

"It's still super sexy though," adds Kaminari, next to her, as they walk to the training grounds together.

Mari purses her lips together. "That wasn't what I was going for," she grumbles to herself. She gives the blonde a side glance. A simple outfit, something between a mix of_ hot topic _civilian and edgy hero.

She tries to not be jealous of how _normal _his costume is compared to hers.

They soon join the others, and Mari takes notice and internally laughs at the way Deku seems to be striking out with the same brown-haired girl from the first day.

Kaminari whistles. He's looking at the girl too. "Damn, I love the heroics course," he mutters appreciatively.

Mari decidedly _ignores _that comment.

It isn't long before Deku takes notice of her and appears to be sweating _even more _than he was before. If possible. "O-Oh! Y-Yoshizawa-san! Nice costume! Interesting design you've made!"

Mari really can't be bothered explaining that this isn't the costume she designed _at all, _so all she does is offer him a curt nod rather than correct him.

"It's really, uh, bold!_ " _He adds nervously.

"As is yours," she replies, staring down at his own costume. "Very… _green." _

Mari hated the colour green.

But she decides not to voice that aloud. She also decides not to talk about the quite obvious green All Might ears on his costume.

Deku offers her a sheepish thanks but is cut off as All Might reappears and begins explaining how the training exercise will work.

They are split into pairs and then groups for an indoor nuclear hostage situation. Fortunately, Mari is not placed with either Bakugou or Deku (_it's the small things in life) _and instead placed with an eccentric french blonde with a cape.

And while usually, she would despise people like him for being too melodramatic, she actually finds his theatrics kind of amusing (especially when he catches Bakugou staring at her, mistakes that for Bakugou staring at him, and asks Bakugou if "he liked what he sees" to which Bakugou started to shout about- _fucking classic). _

So, overall, not a bad match up.

Ironically, she is placed on the _heroes _team rather than the _villains _which is a refreshing change.

Less fortunately, she is placed against Kaminari in the villain team.

Kaminari well and truly gets into the role, making a dramatic gesture with his hand in front of his face, shouting, "Just because we're friends, hero, doesn't mean I'll go easy on you!" he says in a deep voice.

Mari tries not to laugh. "I'll crush you like a pathetic _**bug**,** **_Kaminari."

_"Uh, 'Zawa-chan, why does it sound like you're not joking-" _

Kaminari's purple-haired teammate sighs very heavily.

The rest of the match-ups are uninteresting, as far as Mari is concerned, up until All Might announces that Deku and Bakugou would be fighting each other.

Mari raises one eyebrow in intrigue as Bakugou grins at this and Deku looks utterly hopeless. "Now this should be interesting," she murmurs to herself. So long as it didn't just end how it did in Middle School, with Deku crying and Bakugou being sent to the principal's office.

Maybe, she might even get to see Deku's quirk in action - for real this time, and not just with him using one finger.

_"Oui, _" says her teammate, nodding, as they watch the two walk to the battlefield.

.

.

.

The fight is pretty damn riveting, and tactics Midoriya uses are impressive, to say the least. And Mari isn't too proud to admit that the Deku Vs. Bakugou fight was actually kind of _cool, _even if Bakugou did lose his shit in the end there for a bit.

Eventually, Deku and Brown-Haired girl are declared the winners and join the rest of the class for evaluation. Despite his victory, the expression on Deku's face is not one of happiness. And Bakugou… well, he just looks even more pissed than usual.

The other matchups are considerably less dramatic.

In fact, the only other match-up of any note is one where a boy with red and white hair goes _sicko mode _and freezes the entire building - which, _yeah, _was also kind of cool, she had to admit.

But the most interesting part of that matchup is undoubtedly Bakugou's reaction to it. Mari has the small pleasure of being next to the fiery blonde as he watches the fight, mouth wide open, and gawking. She's close enough that she can even hear his mutter of, "What the hell kind of power is _that" _

And though it probably shouldn't, the idea of Bakugou finally getting a taste of his own medicine brings a smile to her face. She turns to the blonde.

"You were a big fish in a very small pond, Bakugou," she tells him with a wry grin.**_ "Welcome to the ocean."_**

Unfortunately, Mari doesn't get to see Bakugou's full reaction to her mocking as her name is called up for her match before he can even articulate a response.

.

.

.

Even though she probably should be, Mari isn't someone who comes into things with a plan. So, right before the match begins, she takes aside her teammate, as Kaminari does to his, and places a hand on his shoulder.

_"The plan is to win, _" she tells him.

Surprisingly, the Frenchman asks for no details. He merely nods his head and says, _"Oui." _

The villain team are let into the building and after a five-minute wait, All Might gives them the go-ahead to enter, too.

Once inside, they agree to split up, Frenchy taking the odd floors and Mari taking the even. They would let the other one know via their headset when they find a bomb or an enemy.

Mari makes it to the fourth floor and overall lasts about seven minutes before she turns a corner, hears a loud ringing, and is promptly electrocuted and knocked out.

A sensation becoming far too familiar at UA for her liking.

_"Holy shit! We killed 'Zawa-chan!" _

_"We didn't kill -" _

_"DON'T GO INTO THE LIGHT, 'ZAWA-CHAN!"_

Mari hears a few voices and sees two figures in the corner of her vision before it all goes black.

* * *

y'all, wtf did i even just write - the style is kind of different in this, so let me know if it's too boring or blah for your guys' tastes

also! yes! the liar returns! i thought this would be the chapter shinso enters, but this story has a mind of its own and i wrote way too much stuff about literally nothing (i have no control)

but! shinso is defo in the next chapter, he is the second event of that chapter so i can't go over and cut it short this time! the dialogue is all done too!

here's a lil taster for you guys because i feel bad delaying it another chapter

_"I feel like I'm making a deal with the devil," mutters the purple-haired boy apprehensively. He still takes her hand, despite this._

_"I get that a lot, surprisingly."_

_He narrows his eyes at her. "That's not surprising."_

_Mari says nothing else, merely offering him a sly grin._

still a wip tho! also, thank you to any of you guys who left a comment or kudos last chapter, it really means the world to me! hope you guys enjoyed! (p.s i have no idea why kaminari is now such a main character in this fic now, but it be like that sometimes i guess)


	9. MARI YOSHIZAWA WANTS TO SAVE THE DAY

MARI YOSHIZAWA WANTS TO SAVE THE DAY

* * *

_(no, she really does, I swear-)_

_._

_._

_._

Mari Yoshizawa wakes up in the nurse's office at UA for the second time in the past two months and she is _pissed._

There's a moment of grogginess as her black eyes squint at spinning white fan above her, but then it hits her again all at once and she's up from her bed in an instant, grumbling, "Fuck _you, _Kaminari."

Despite every muscle she moves screaming for her to sit back down, Mari roughly flips the bed covers off her and swings her feet to the side of the bed only to meet the disapproving gaze of Recovery Girl.

"Language, Yoshizawa-chan," she says with a shake of her head as she abruptly shoves a thermometer in her mouth.

"_Fuh yuu, Recofvry girl." _She snaps back without a beat - though the delivery is significantly weakened due to her inability to speak around the thermometer.

"What was that, Yoshizawa-chan?" Recovery Girl asks with an eye narrow that makes Mari swallow roughly. That tone was far too threatening for a healer, nonetheless a _hero, _but Mari supposes she shouldn't be one to talk.

_"Nufthing." _Grumbles back Mari. She'd repeat what she said if she didn't think Recovery Girl was the only hero in this school that could _legitimately _kick her ass seven ways to Sunday.

Recovery Girls replies with a satisfied hum and then removes the thermometer. "Your temperature is normal. And I checked the rest of your vitals while you were sleeping the day away." She says, dropping the thermometer on a metal tray next to her.

Mari turns to squint at the window next to her bed, where she can see the orange hues of the sunset creeping in and students beginning to file out the school. She'd been knocked out for quite some time, it seems.

She turns back to the old woman in front of her. _"What happened?"_

She feels like she's been hit by a truck, or has been struck by lighting. Quite possibly both.

Recovery Girl doesn't even bother to look at her, she merely shuffles to her desk and begins flipping through some clipboards. "Your nervous system experienced a severe electric shock and your ears were ruptured simultaneously," she says, though it leaves Mari with more questions than answers.

I mean, the electricity made sense (fucking Kaminari) and the rupture must have been from that headache-inducing _ringing _she heard before passing out. But -

"I can hear fine, though,"

And at this Recovery Girl _does _turn to look at her, giving her one of the most unimpressed looks she's seen in her life. "That would be because of me."

_Ah. _That's kind of a no brainer, she supposes.

"I figured you'd rather aching muscles than no hearing. Now you can participate in all your classes tomorrow," she adds.

"Ah. Yes. That's precisely what I was concerned about," Mari mutters with sarcasm.

Recovery Girl gives her another look that says 'don't get snarky with me'. She doesn't comment on her tone, though, merely shaking in her head in exasperation and exclaiming, "Between you and Midoriya-kun this is sure to be a lively school year." Then, quietly, she adds, _"Lord save me from hero students with no self-preservation."_

And Mari snickers at this, ever so slightly.

She hears an apologetic whine from across the room. "S-Sorry for the trouble, Recovery Girl."

Mari's eyes move to the bed on the right. Predictably, she is in the first aid room with Midoriya Izuku again. She's surprised he's still conscious after that blow Bakugou gave him.

He catches her staring (an ironic turn of tables) and grows significantly more frigid. "O-oh! Yoshizawa-san! We have to stop meeting like this!" He says nervously.

_"We're in the same class, Midoriya."_

"Haha! I m-meant how we keep getting injured! _It's a j-joke –" _And then he cuts himself off, almost as if deciding whether it was worth digging this hole deeper or not. His sentence dissolves into nervous laughter.

Mari just stares at him blankly.

Recovery Girl looks between them and then shakes her head and leaves the room, muttering, "Best let Aizawa know his two dunces are awake."

A tense silence passes.

"S-so!" Midoriya begins, suddenly, just when it seems the tension has become dense enough to choke on. "What are you –"

Mari cuts him off, she doesn't think the end of that sentence is anything interesting to her. And she has to say what she's about to say _now _before she loses her courage. "Midoriya." She abruptly speaks and though he seems confused the green-haired boy quickly shuts his mouth.

"Your fight with Bakugou, it was impressive." She says with as much sincerity as she can muster.

It was strange. Ever since the exam, it seems every low expectation she had for Midoriya he kept exceeding.

Every time she thought he was lame or weak, he does something that surprises her. And that is something she feels she must _at the very least _acknowledge in front of him.

Because she can see him trying. Trying so desperately, fighting with every fibre of his being, making it through every trial by the skin of his teeth – but _still _making it.

And there was something admirable in that.

"You've come a long way from Aldera," she says, and she tries to remember the way Kaminari crinkles his eyes when he tells her something or the dimples he gets that makes it seem so genuine with everything he says. She tries her best to mimic him in this moment. "Well done."

Midoriya blinks at her. She's seen him _dumbfounded _plenty of times but it's the first time she's seen an expression of such confusion and _was it presumptuous to say joy? _on his face.

Then, the confusion leaves him, and he grins so bright Mari thinks he could put flash bombs to shame. What was it with these heroes and their nice smiles? It kind of pissed her off (but mostly it just made her heart feel warm).

"I, uh, -" considering how much Midoriya loves to _ramble _this is quite possibly one of the few times he is left wordless.

She thinks back to Kaminari's words.

_"You're actually a really cool gal when you, ya know, actually speak!"_

_"And when you're not doing that scary thing with your eyes you seem like a really nice person to be friends with!"_

She tries to smile at him, the reassuring way Kaminari does at when she's not replying, but it doesn't seem to have the same effect.

Midoriya stops his quite frankly _sad _attempts to formulate words and blinks at her. Then, he bursts out laughing like she'd just told him the funniest thing he'd ever heard in his life.

"Y-Y-Yoshizawa-san! W-W-What are you t-t-trying to d-d-do!" And though his stutters were usually a result of nervousness this time it is from how out of breath he now is, wheezing so hard that he is holding his bandaged ribs in pain as he does so.

Mari is frowning again. "I was smiling at you," she says simply.

Midoriya laughs harder. "I-I'm s-s-sorry, Y-Yoshizawa-san! You're just s-s-o _funny!"_

_Fuck this shit. _

Mari turns away from him, crossing her arms over her chest and grumbling under her breath. _"Last fuckin time I try to be nice to these fuckwit heroes, stupid Kaminari, this is his fault –"_

She almost forgets about the other person in the room, cursing quietly until he speaks again. "I really appreciate you saying that Yoshizawa-san." He begins, once again all too _confident _for the quirkless boy she knew in Middle school.

_"It makes me feel a little less worthless standing next to you…"_

The last line he mutters doesn't seem like it's meant for her ears, but she hears it anyway. She doesn't get the opportunity to say anything in return (not that she would have any idea _what _to say to that, really) as the annoyed-looking face of her new teacher enters through the door.

Midoriya perks up again. "A-A-Aizawa-sensei!" he greets him nervously.

Their teachers gives them a scathing glare in response. "You're idiots. The both of you." He begins. Midoriya gulps and Mari sighs very quietly.

He walks over to Midoriya's bed, hits him on the back of the head and begins going over the short list of everything he did right in the fights today and the _long _list of everything he did so very wrong.

After their brief conversation, Aizawa looks even more pissed (if possible) and Midoriya resembles something of a kicked puppy.

"And _you_," he begins, turning around and pinning Mari down with his dead fish glare.

He opens his mouth to speak again, but Mari finds she isn't in the mood for lectures so she cuts him off. "What happened to me?" she asks, pinning him down with a cold glare of her own.

Though he does not seem pleased with the way she interrupts him, he answers her question regardless. "Kaminari and Jirou combined their quirks. Kaminari used his electricity to amplify the sound produced by Jirou, and the result was something so deafening everyone in the building immediately went unconscious."

Explains the ringing, Mari thinks, but it is not what she says. Instead, she replies with what now seems to be becoming her _catchphrase _with how often she says it.

_"Fucking Kaminari."_

And unlike with Recovery Girl, there is no chastisement for swearing. In fact, in response to her comment, Aizawa gives her what almost seems like a wry grin of amusement.

Then the rest of his explanation dawns on her. _Everyone in the building?_

She turns to Aizawa with furrowed eyebrows and he answers her concerns before she can vocalise them (not that she thinks she could, anyway). "Everyone else was fine. A little ringing in their ears but they'll be back tomorrow. It was you who received the brunt of it."

And really, she should probably be annoyed at that, but she finds herself feeling surprisingly and sickenly relieved.

There's another tense pause in the room. And then, Aizawa speaks again. "Has Recovery Girl cleared you for leaving?"

She hadn't, but Mari nods anyway. She didn't really want to be here anymore. Not with these people who had seen how weak she was today. It was pathetic. Left a bad taste in her mouth.

"Get out of here and rest at home, then. We have an excursion in a few days and it's best you be at 100% for that."

Mari nods and quickly leaves to get her bag and school uniform from the classroom.

An excursion, huh? Sounds _boring._

_._

.

.

She meets Kaminari in the hallway, who is holding his school bag and frantically looking around for _something, _but Mari doesn't know what.

He notices her before she can even decide whether it was worth going up to him. "Ah! 'Zawa-chan! You're okay!"

"Yeah, _no thanks to you." _She mutters bitterly as she walks past him to the classroom.

"Aww, don't be like that 'Zawa-chan! I'm sorry!" He shouts as he stumbles to catch up to her.

He puts his hands together in an apologetic gesture but Mari simply arches her eyebrow and keeps moving.

"'Zawa-chan! It was an accident! And I did tell you I wouldn't hold back!"

She stops in her tracks to stare at him coldly.

"Ah! Don't look at me like that! Look, I'll make it up to you!"

She crosses her arms over her chest. "I'm listening."

"Um, I'll shout you lunch some time!"

The look Mari gives him is one that says she is _thoroughly unimpressed._

_"I'll take you to the movies, too!" _He adds. "All my treat!"

Mari regards his offer for the moment. Then, she lifts her head up and says, "I like Horror films," before beginning to walk away.

Kaminari laughs as he walks faster to catch up to her again. "Whatever you want, 'Zawa-chan!"

_"The electrified hair is a good look on you, by the way!"_

_"Shut up, Kaminari."_

_._

_._

_._

Mari and Kaminari end up parting ways at the train station and the pink-haired girl lets out a breath of relief she was holding. Today was.. a lot.

And that wasn't even including the getting electrified and having her ears ruptured part.

At the very least, Mari is glad that all her socialising for the day was done, and she could go home, relax, and place a pre-order on Animal Crossing New Horizons now.

She rides her train to the station in peaceful silence (surprisingly, Bakugou isn't there and she briefly wonders what has kept him back at school for the first time in nine years for them to not take the train together).

She leaves the station with her headphones in, idly reading a chapter from the book she had brought with her (today it was _Kafka on the Shore _by Haruki Murakami). She grabs the next page and crinkles it in surprise as someone around her suddenly begins shouting.

**_"And where do you think you're going, huh?!"_**

Annoyed she lifts her head to see a comically cliched bullying scene. Two high school delinquents with untucked shirts and greased up hair. They are in a nearby alleyway (once again, _cliché) _surrounding a student with a ... UA uniform?

Vaguely interesting, she supposes. But ultimately none of her business. She doesn't recognise the boy with purple hair and therefore owes him no favours. And besides, if he's at _UA _he must have a somewhat powerful quirk, right?

Mari smooths out her book page and keeps reading. She takes about two steps before they're shouting again.

"How do you like that, **_villain?!"_**

Mari freezes. Her heart is doing that funny thing again where it tries to leap out of her throat and choke her.

She said she wouldn't help. She said it's none her business.

_But being called a __**villain? **_That was her business.

She knew what that was like, all too intimately. She thinks back to all the times (scarce, though terrifying) that she was bullied after school for being a so-called villain. She thinks about how she wished someone would help her, be her night in shining armour.

She can hear Aizawa's dry and nagging tone somewhere in the back of her head.

_"If you truly want to be a hero, Yoshizawa, then you should start acting like one."_

Then she hears the voice of others -

_"A-A-Aren't you meant to be like a h-h-hero?!"_

She hears the voices of those who were already heroes –

_"Well, at the end of the day, being a hero isn't about points... It's about saving people!"_

She hears the voices of everyone who doubted her –

_"You want to be a hero?"_

_"You seem more like a villain to me."_

.

.

.

**_"Why are you here?"_**

Mari Yoshizawa is here to prove herself. Mari Yoshizawa is here to be a hero.

Mari Yoshizawa is here to say 'fuck you' to everyone who ever called her a villain.

Her legs move faster than her thoughts, and before she can even comprehend what she is doing, she is throwing her limited edition hardcover copy of _Kafka on the Shore_ at one of the delinquents heads (which, to her surprise, _does not echo _as she expects it to).

"I am here!" she shouts in a disgustingly All Might fashion.

Three incredulous faces turn to her, the purple-haired victim included.

"I am here to save the day!"

**_What the fuck am I doing?_**

* * *

alright! here we have one of mari's first heroic acts as a UA student! will she help, or just make matters worse? find out next time

also! i did not lie, shinso is technically in this chapter, he just doesn't have any lines... but don't worry! the start of chapter ten will be nothing but my boy! (also, would you guys be interested in making him a love interest?) lmfao at this point every character in this fuckin series is gonna be apart of mari's harem...

but yes! i wanted to include the shinso scenes but denki and izuku kinda took the spotlight (on the bright side tho, denki date chapter coming soon?)

also i chose the book Kafka on the Shore for Mari because it is by a japanese author (one who happens to be my favourite author, by pure coincidence i swear) and i feel like the characters of kafka and mari are similar, in their kind of quiet strength and frigid determinedness

i also chose animal crossing because i am waiting for it to come out! (march 20 hurry up) and I feel like it could be a secret addiction of mari's. but let me know what you guys think!

hopefully, a new chapter will be out by the end of the month because this one was kind of short (but i felt it was a good place to end it) and a bit lacking imo.

i just started my business course tho, so we'll see how much time i have after work D:

anywho, hope you guys enjoyed, and thank you to those who read the last chapter!


	10. MARI YOSHIZAWA WANTS TO FIGHT FOR YOU

an entire chapter,,, just for shinso - hope this makes up for the delay for his debut!

* * *

MARI YOSHIZAWA WANTS TO FIGHT FOR YOU

* * *

The door is opened suddenly and this time I do not flinch when the scowling face of Detective Ishikawa appears and immediately glares at me.

The Detective says nothing and walks directly to my cell, giving the guards at the door a dismissive hand gesture as he does. They exchange a _look, _and then leave the room.

It seems my neighbour in the next cell over isn't feeling particularly chatty today, so a tense silence fills the room as the Detective stares me down without saying anything. Then, he reaches behind him for a chair and does that thing that I was sure detectives only do in _movies, _where he spins it around and sits on it backward.

The metal scrapes against the floor before he sits down on it, dropping like a bag of rocks with a very heavy sigh. Hardly one of relief, if anything it is one of immense displeasure. _Yeah, I don't want to be here either, dude. _

"You look tired, Detective." I begin, deciding to break the ice. "Maybe you should take a break," I say. In response to this his eight arachnid red eyes narrow at me.

"I don't take advice from children," he grumbles.

I blink at him. "It wasn't advice, Detective. It was a polite way of telling you to _get out of my hair." _

Detective Ishikawa snorts at this, but it seems more mocking than it does amused. "You talk an awful lot like a smartass for a nine-year-old."

I turn my head to look at him curiously. I watch the way his shoulders slump so low every time he takes a breath and the shaky way he exhales. He's tired of this, as I am. Why he doesn't end this stupid game of cat and mouse here now, I'll never understand.

"I'm turning ten tomorrow, maybe that's why."

The Detective snorts again. An immensely unattractive sound. "Congrats," he says but it sounds awfully mocking again.

I don't think he was expecting me to say _thanks _or anything in return so I shut my mouth and turn away from him. From my sitting position on my mattress, I pull my knees to my chest. I'm sick of this. I want to go home.

I'd possess him right now and get this over with if looking into his eyes didn't freak me out so much. _Stupid creepy spiders. _

He brings one of his arms, covered in tiny black fur to his chin in thought. "Maybe if you're cooperative today, we can get you home by then."

He smiles at me, spider fangs glinting under the harsh white lights of the holding room, and I suddenly feel so sick at that moment that I quickly turn my head to avoid vomiting (which, undoubtedly, I would have done if I had to look at that creepy man for any longer)

_Stupid Stone Spiderman… _

"Why did you kill him?" he asks.

I stare firmly at the cracked walls of my cell and not him. "You don't want to take me home, you want to send me to juvie," I mumble.

Unsurprisingly, the detective does not address my comment. "I asked you a question," he says, firmer this time.

"I didn't kill him," I say, repeating what had basically become my mantra with how often I had to say it in these interrogations.

A scoff this time. "Don't lie to me."

"I'm _not," _I insist, but all I get in response is another scoff.

"You did, you _made him shoot himself." _

I don't snap back immediately. Instead, in a show of patience and forethought that would probably make my parents cry coming from me, I take a deep breath and compose myself before I try to fling myself at the bars of this cell and give the detective a black eye (even though that sounds, really, _really, _good right now.)

I turn to look him in the eye (desperately ignoring how much it gave me the heebie-jeebies) and stare him down. "Where's your evidence?" I counter. "Photos, witnesses? What proves_ I _did it when there's is an overwhelming amount of evidence that it was suicide?"

"Yes, but with the power of your quirk, it is entirely possible-"

I cut him off. "That's coincidence, not correlation." I say, standing from my bed to look down at him. "You have nothing."

My attempt at intimidation does not affect the detective. He merely sharpens his glare. "Look, Yoshizawa-chan, we've gone over this before. There are two ways this questioning can go. One of those ways can be very _easy _for you, and the other can be very _painful, _if you choose so."

All my resolve crumbles immediately. The Detective couldn't seriously be _threatening me, _could he?

Me, a _nine-year-old child? _

I blink at him again. And then I let out a noise of disbelief and ask, "Do you _enjoy _hurting little girls, Detective? Are you one of _those _men?"

Though his expression does not soften, his eyebrows raise in a way that tells me I've caught him off guard. "Don't play this game with me, Yoshizawa-"

I cut him off again, emboldened by this new edge. "That man is dead for good reason. He was going to kill that boy. He is dead, and it should matter not by whose hand - whether that be by his own or an innocent nine-year-old girl who happened to be there at the time of his death."

The Detective stands from his chair. "_Don't cut me off," _he growls at me. He walks close to the bars and places his hands on them. "Don't try to be the hero, Yoshizawa, it doesn't suit you."

"You're the villain in this. Nothing more than a killer. A _murderer." _

And then he kicks his chair behind him and leaves the room. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.

The man in the cell to my right laughs. "A villain at age nine," he says. "You don't see that often."

I feel like I'm going to be sick again.

* * *

"I am here to save the day!"

This, Mari Yoshizawa thinks, may possibly be one of the worst ideas she's ever had in her life.

While it may not have been all that unusual for students like _Midoriya Izuku _to stand up for a bullied kid in an alleyway, obnoxiously announcing his presence like he was a low budget All Might ripoff from an after school kids special, this was not something Mari Yoshizawa did.

One of the bullies sneers, and because he is a cliched bully in a back alley he has no choice but to reply to Mari's declaration with, "And who the hell do you think you are?!"

"I'm a hero …_ student… _." she begins, but has to hastily add on the last part because for some reason the words "I'm a hero" by themself just didn't feel right on her tongue. "I'm here to help," she adds on, quite redundantly, but feels it is something a _real _hero might say in this situation.

"What with? We're just having a little chat with our friend Shinso, no one needs help here." says the second bully.

"Well, you quite obviously _do," _retorts Mari, crossing her arms over her chest. "Because, _frankly, _that punching technique is _awful, _and if you really want it to hurt then you'll bring him over to the curb and-"

The delinquents and victim share a look and then one of the bullies interrupts her. "You're here to help us beat him up?" he asks incredulously.

"Yes," Mari agrees, shaking her head. "That's exactly - wait, no, no," it suddenly occurs to Mari once more that today she is doing the _saving _and not the bullying. Old habits break hard, she supposes.

She makes a dismissive hand gesture and then points to the purple-haired kid, laying on the asphalt who is now also looking at her incredulously.

The look he gives her is less "oh my god, _my saviour_," and more "oh my god, _who the fuck is this _". He doesn't seem very relieved that she's here to help, at least.

"I'm here to help this kid beat the crap out of you guys!"

Three faces stare at her with varying levels of horror and confusion and Mari thinks that maybe, _just maybe, _she isn't cut out for saving people after all.

.

.

.

Shinso Hitoshi cannot even begin to comprehend what is happening.

Like, seriously, could someone explain to him, **_what. the. fuck._**_is going on right now? _

I mean, the bullying started off normal enough - started the way it always does, for the same stupid petty reasons that he cannot _even control_, but this time something has gone awry.

Shinso has thought to himself many times before about how nice it would be to have someone stand up for him; to have someone shove his bullies aside, and tell him _I think your quirk is great! _

But those kinds of fantasies were usually just that - fantasies. Things you think about late at night as you crawl into bed with bruises and scrapes _(because you're tired of trying to fight back) _and things you re-enact in the shower to your shampoo bottles.

People didn't stand up for Shinso Hitoshi.

And even if they _did, _he's pretty sure they're not meant to be hero students with pink hair and devil horns throwing books and suggesting fighting techniques to his tormentors.

Because seriously, _what the fuck _was with that?.

Shinso is brought out of his thoughts by one of the bullies, still with his rough hand on his shirt as he snickers at the girl and says, "He's got a villain's quirk, don't bother trying to stand up for him."

And that, at the very least, is something _familiar _to Shinso in this so very bizarre situation.

This part, at least, he knew how this bit goes. The bullies would announce his quirk, the girl would reel back, _horrified, _and run away, _or maybe, even help them beat him up, _considering what she was saying before.

The girl doesn't react immediately. She blinks and then tilts her head, "So? Who cares about that?" she retorts and for once Shino dares to let himself get his hopes up.

It couldn't be -

"He can brainwash people! He's a villain!"

Impossibly, someone who hears about his quirk and doesn't -

_"What's so bad about that!?" _

Shinso cannot believe his ears. Was she, legitimately, standing up for his quirk? Had he finally met someone who hears the word _brainwashing _and doesn't immediately call him a -

**_"What's so bad about being a villain, anyway?!" _**She shouts, effectively silencing the rest of the alleyway.

"_What." _says Shinso.

"_What." _says his tormentors.

Then, as a moment of profuse confusion passes between them all, one of the bullies speaks again, _"What the hell are you saying?!" _

The pink-haired girl crosses her arms over her chest, shaking her head with a sigh as if she hadn't just said possibly the most ridiculous thing Shinso has ever heard in his life.

Then she grins at them; something so devilish and fiendish that Shinso is convinced this girl's quirk must be being _Lucifer _incarnate.

Shinso isn't religious, but if someone had told him this is how fallen angels were depicted in the bible - with dyed pink hair and chipped black nails and a _UA _hero uniform, he might've just believed them after this.

Her teeth are sharper than normal, _fangs _more than anything, but Shinso is more unnerved by them than he is surprised.

"As someone who has been called a villain her entire life, I can say with certainty that we're the ones who have the most fun." she says, calmly walking towards them.

She reaches down to pick up the book she threw earlier, flicks some dirt off the cover, and then looks back up at the three.

She places it in her tote bag, every move she makes extremely deliberate and _slow, _somehow only adding to the sudden tension of the situation.

"Wanna see what real villains do?" she asks, grinning, and suddenly Shinso thinks that maybe he doesn't want to be in the Hero course if all it's students are as _batshit insane _as this.

She laughs, something ominous and evil (more of a _cackle, _really) before abruptly collapsing to the ground.

Shinso blinks.

He looks at her unconscious body.

Then he blinks again.

_That was.._ _anticlimactic… _He thinks, staring at her now lifeless form.

**_"Dude, what the fuck was that for-" _**

His gaze is abruptly moved from her as he hears a shout of pain behind him. His two bullies are now _brawling _for some unknown reason, beating each other black and blue in an impromptu fisticuffs battle.

Shinso is more than confused at this point, but he won't look a gift horse in the mouth so he quickly gathers his things and prepares to make a getaway while his bullies are busy but stops upon the body of the girl.

Weirdo or not, he did have to check whether she was okay before he left.

He goes to touch her neck to check for a pulse but stops before he can as one of the bullies shout, _"Oi! Kid!" _

The boy points at the girl. "Do not touch what _you can't afford," _he says before the other bully punches him in the back of the head and he collapses too.

Shinso stares at the last bully standing, utterly gobsmacked at what is happening.

The boy wipes his face with the sleeve of his school uniform, looks to his friend's unconscious body before shouting, "Man, fuck this shit! I'm out of here!"

He leaves the alleyway and all Shinso is left with is an unconscious UA student and bleeding second-year delinquent.

**_What the fuck just happened. _**

And just to make things even more complicated that is when the girl wakes up, sitting up immediately and rubbing the back of her head.

"That was a cheap fucking shot," she murmurs before her eyes meet Shinso's again.

"Oh hey," she says, stilling rubbing her head. "You're still here. You're welcome, by the way."

Though Shinso is afraid to find out the answer, he licks his lips nervously and asks, "You're welcome _for what?" _

She holds her head a little higher, almost as if _proud, _when she replies, "I beat up those boys for you."

"You were the one who caused _that?" _

"It's my quirk," she replies. "_Possession_," she says, and either Shinso is going crazy or her eyes definitely got a little more sinister when she said that.

Shinso thought his quirk was bad, but _body-snatching? _

Maybe her words make a little more sense now. He can understand why she stood up for him, but that doesn't mean everything else she did made any more sense.

"You… You just _beat _them up. Like, I definitely saw teeth fly out of that dude's mouth." Shinso says slowly, still trying to process what just happened himself.

"Pretty heroic, right?"

_"You're crazy," _Shinso decides, standing up and backing away from her.

The pink-haired demon hardly seems phased by his words, she merely glances at him lazily as a tail (a _fucking tail) _swings behind her listlessly.

"And you're ungrateful," she retorts.

Shinso stares at her because that is all he feels he is capable of at that moment.

_Ungrateful? _

"I mean," he begins, holding his head in his hand. "I guess you did save me. Technically." Shinso looks to the ground covered in teeth and specks of blood like it held the answer to all of the universe's questions.

"No one's really stood up for me before. Let alone beat the shit out of and possessed some second years for me."

He looks back up at the girl, who is now standing too and brushing dust off her skirt.

"So. Uh, ok? Thanks, I guess." he finishes.

Shinso wasn't someone who was all that good at saying thank you, let alone to people in situations as _"morally grey" _like this, he supposes.

The girl nods at his apology. "All in a day's work for a hero student," she says, arrogance obvious in her tone.

Shinso blinks, recalling her saying a similar thing when introducing herself. "You're... You're actually in the hero course at UA."

She nods. "I was the top-scoring applicant, too," she adds, once again, _very arrogantly. _

Out of all the things Shinso has seen and heard in the past half hour, this is by far the most outrageous. _"You," _he replies, disbelievingly. "The girl who just hospitalised two second-year schoolboys."

She nods again. "The one and only."

And at that moment, Shinso can only think of one thing:

**_"UA is fucking rigged."_**

The pink-haired devil laughs at this; humourless and mocking. "Don't be so salty, general boy," she remarks - and briefly, he wonders why she assumes he is general over support or business, but quickly dismisses it. She continues, "The only reason you're not in the hero course is your own shortcomings and lack of ambition."

Let it be known that Shinso is not someone who gets angry. In fact, he'd say he's pretty much a master at remaining perfectly stoic these days. Kick in his ribs, punch his mouth till it bleeds and call him a villain, _he doesn't care. _

But this? Call him _unambitious? _Imply that he never even _tried _to be a hero? Never stayed up late at night watching analysis videos, never spent an entire three years training for one entrance exam only to lose '_cause his quirk doesn't fucking work on robots? _

That is what pisses Shinso Hitoshi off.

"Lack of ambition?!" He echoes, never so utterly _insulted _by a stranger like this before. "I'll have you know-"

He's cut off before he can unleash 15 years of pent up anger on her. She gives him an exasperated look. "I'm going to stop you before your face turns as purple as your hair." says the devil. She continues, "I was referring to your quirk. Brainwashing, right? Can't you just **make **them put you in?"

Once again, all Shinso can do is stare at her like she'd grown three heads, or suggested he cheat his way into the most prestigious hero school in Japan _(oh, wait, that is what she just did.) _

"That's… not how it works," he replies. "And that's just totally unethical," he adds, though he really shouldn't have to given how that should be a _no brainer _to a hero student.

"Well, that's lame," she answers back.

"Yeah, it is."

A long pause falls between the two students. Shinso takes this as his queue to leave, but he doesn't make it very far this time, either.

The pink-haired devil calls out to him once more, "Do you want any help getting in, then?"

When he turns around to look at her expression is one he cannot understand. She almost seems confused at the words coming out of her own mouth, but then she shakes her head and stares at him resolutely.

"What?" Shinso asks in reply. He feels like he saying that word a lot today.

"We can work together," she begins and Shinso wonders if he judged her too harshly. The girl continues, "If we threaten enough people, start enough fires, then they have to let you in eventually-"

No, perhaps, he did not judge this girl harsh enough. Maybe she is not a morally grey student, but rather someone who is morally _black, _blacker than the world's darkest room, blacker than a black hole - perhaps this girl's soul was just as black as the black irises in the expectant stare she gives him.

"No.." he interrupts her. "I… I want to get in, the right way. I want to earn it."

And this time she does not laugh at him, merely stares for a few moments before looking away. "Spoken like a true hero," she mutters, her words soft but carrying in the wind so Shinso is still able to hear them.

Shinso lets out a small puff of air through his nose in dry amusement. "Why does that feel like an insult, coming from you?"

Black, black, morally black, black eyes turn to him. "Because it is," she answers simply.

Another tense pause falls upon them. This time Shinso is the one to break it.

"How about you help me, in a different way?" he asks slowly, deliberately taking his time to choose the right words to say.

She says nothing, merely raising one eyebrow in intrigue. Shinso continues, "We can train together," he begins. "We have similar kind of quirks, and you can teach me the stuff you learn in your course. We can meet up once a week to go over it."

Her expression shifts to something Shinso cannot describe once more. Hesitantly, she replies, "Like… friends do?"

Shinso didn't spar with any of his friends (the general students seemed far less motivated than him) but he imagines that's what hero students might do. "Something like that," he replies dismissively.

And then she grins, something entirely less sinister than the last grin she showed him. She seems almost excited, and this time it is far less ominous. "Deal," she says and holds out her hand. "Let's shake on it."

Apprehensively, he takes her hand into his.

"No going back now," she says, still grinning.

Shinso almost laughs. "I feel like I'm making a deal with the devil," he mutters.

"I get that a lot, surprisingly."

Shinso narrows his eyes at her, eyeing her red horns, fanged teeth and black tail. "That's not surprising."

The girl says nothing else, merely offering him another sly grin.

.

.

.

"My name is Mari Yoshizawa, by the way."

"Shinso Hitoshi."

_"Holy shit, your name is ridiculous." _

* * *

y'all,, i'd like to formally apologise for this chapter,,

it's a whole lot of uninteresting bs and ooc mari and shinso. i'd like to go over it soon and maybe cut out all the unnecessary stuff and make it a bit easier to read.

next chapter I have mari planned to meet Todo, but considering how long it took to introduce shinso who knows what'll happen smh me

also some quick notes!

the first part was a flashback, which is why i decided to make it first person, but if you guys don't like it or don't think it flows well, I'll change it

some translation notes -

(1) in the flashback, mari calls the detective "Stupid Stone Spiderman", mocking the japanese meaning of his name and his arachnid quirk.

his last name is Ishikawa - the word "Ishi" roughly translating to rock, and "Kawa" meaning river or stream. so, detective stony river basically

(2) in the last scene, mari calls shinso's name ridiculous because his full name literally translates to "Mind Control Person" or "Mind Control Man" (im telling y'all bnha names are the fuckin best)

this is because Hitoshi means Person, Shin means Mind and So means To Manipulate or Control


	11. MARI YOSHIZAWA WANTS TO BE YOUR FRIEND

god, it's already been *squints* ten chapters? and todoroki is only getting introduced now

I'm sorry my icy bb

* * *

MARI YOSHIZAWA WANTS TO BE YOUR FRIEND

* * *

(or she wants to punch you, there's really no way of telling)

.

.

.

Mari Yoshizawa isn't one to **_brag_** _(a lie, she is and always will when given even the slightest opportunity) _but she would say she's doing pretty damn well in the "friend department" as of late.

Mari Yoshizawa has two friends in this life.

_Two. _

That's two more than she had throughout all of middle school. An achievement that should be celebrated, in her _(less than) _humble opinion.

And sure, it _is _true that prior to UA she never _wanted _any, anyway, but that's beside the point. Now, she had not only two friends, but two _hero _friends.

She had allies. Comrades.

**_Accomplices. _**

Mari was no fool. As antisocial as she may be, there is no need to make her life harder by choosing the path of a lone wolf. No, rather than play the tsundere _Bakugou _in all this, she thinks she'd much rather form tentative friendships with those around her - if only to further her own morally ambiguous goals.

Not to mention her newly acquired _brainwasher. _As strange as Shinso Hitoshi may be, he is without a doubt, unequivocally, _useful. _

So if Mari looks a bit more pleased than usual on the train to school (despite Bakugou's glaring) and if her fanged almost-but-not-quite smile seems a _little _more content, then it is for good reason.

.

.

.

Whatever traces of _happiness _that might've once resided on Mari Yoshizawa's face are lost forever to history when she approaches the UA gate that day. Mari's happiness is again reduced to no more than a whispered rumour among UA freshmen, a myth told around campfires to the disbelief and astonishment of all its listeners.

Mari's expression is _annoyed, _and quite quickly descending to the _'fucking pissed off' _territory of her limited range of emotions.

Mari Yoshizawa hates a lot of things in this life but on the list of all the things she hates the _most _, nosy people and noisy crowds are pretty high up there.

So when Mari Yoshizawa approaches her school and sees the _hordes _of reporters outside, vultures ganging up and cornering students with cameras and microphones and feasting on the scraps of the dead, she is less than pleased.

She is _even less _pleased when she gets closer and a reporter dares to grab her arm; to _touch her, _as if they had any more rights than a piece of abandoned chewing gum underneath a public school desk in her eyes.

"You there! You're a student here, aren't you? Tell us what it's like!"

Mari has gone from annoyed, outright skipped being pissed off, and gone straight to being _absolutely revolted. _

"Is it true that All Might is-"

The reporter doesn't get the chance to finish his question as Mari turns to face him, black eyes _blazing, _and punches his teeth in.

She does not bother to possess him; as the idea of being inside a human being so beneath her gave her the heebie-jeebies.

The man staggers back, blood flying from his mouth and lets go of her arm _(finally). _He stares at Mari, horrified, and a quiet hush falls over the group of vultures as he holds his bloody mouth.

"You… you... **_Bitch!" _**

He manages to declare after a few moments and thus pandemonium begins again. None of the other reporters offer to help him, and more than a few shove cameras in his face rather than help him out.

"Young lady! You just punched an innocent man! How do you think your actions reflect on UA-"

"Is this what they teach in the hero course?!"

"I thought UA was raising heroes, not thugs-"

The floodgates are opened once more and a plethora of questions are shouted at her again. Mari rears back her fist, the words _"I'll fuckin do it again," _are on her lips but she doesn't get the chance to tell them that.

"He grabbed her."

She hears a voice above the screeching of the vultures around her (somehow) and all eyes turn to the new person on the scene.

"It was self-defence," the student continues, heterochromatic eyes pinning down the reporters with his cold stare.

It's a classmate of hers, she realises. The boy with red and white hair and _insane _quirk.

The reporters recognise him, too. Another moment of quiet falls upon them. Then, "Endeavour's son! In the flesh!"

And once again, anarchy descends as Mari and the reporter lying on the ground clutching his jaw are quickly forgotten.

"Todoroki Shoto! Son of the _number two _hero!"

Once the initial shock is over, the questions begin. "Are you defending this girl's actions-"

"Does the Todoroki family _value _this kind of violence-"

"What would your father say-"

Unlike Mari, Todoroki does not punch and swear at the reporters when they rush him, grabbing at his sleeve and shoving cameras in his face. He doesn't answer their questions, nor does he seem all that _pleased _to have so many eyes on him, but he does seem accustomed to it.

Cool as ever he stares them down once more. "She was provoked. The reporter is the one who was at fault."

Mari realises, distantly, that he's _defending _her. The thought makes her want to laugh out loud.

It's a nice gesture, she supposes, but wholly unneeded. In fact, he might even be defending the wrong _side _here, considering the groaning reporter on the floor.

Mari opens her mouth to say this, but Todoroki beats her to it. Despite the group of reporter's clinging to him, he navigates towards her easily.

"We have a class to go to," he says, but the authority his voice holds when he says it makes it seem more like a declaration. It's said not to her, but the reporters instead.

He continues, black and blue eyes narrowing, "Please leave before a teacher is forced to grab campus security."

The word _security _, like a trigger word to all trespassing reporters, makes them let out scandalised gasps, scattering like cockroaches when a light is turned on.

"That was a good bluff," Mari says after they all leave. "Do we even have campus security..?" the question is more of a curious mutter to herself, but Todoroki answers, regardless.

"This is one of the most prestigious schools in Japan," he replies, and even his neutral expression seems a little dumbfounded at that moment. "Of course we do."

_Must be pretty shit security, then, _Mari thinks but does not say aloud.

Now that the reporters are gone they are standing in the entrance together for no reason, and neither one of them is speaking. It's awkward, and for once Mari isn't the one causing the tension.

Maybe he's expecting her to say thanks?

Because there's very clearly something _he _wants to say to her, if the conflicted expression in his eyes is anything to go by.

Ultimately, Mari decides she doesn't care either way. She opens her mouth to say goodbye, a pleasantry she likely would have foregone if she didn't think he might make for a powerful accomplice later down the line, but he interrupts her again, speaking before she can.

"Do you know who I am?" he asks her after a few moments. He's not looking at her when he says this, merely glancing down at his closed fist.

Mari almost laughs at how narcissistic his question sounds, even with the stoic face that says it.

"Of course I do," she replies, mostly because she doesn't think he's asking for egotistical reasons. And she _does _indeed recognise him, come to think of it. Beyond him just being her classmate, that is.

He's looking up at her again and strangely he looks almost... Relieved?

Not arrogant, or proud. Just relieved.

"So you _do _remember-"

"You're Sweaty Fire Man's son or whatever, right?" she asks, regarding him blankly.

_"Sweaty… Fireman? _" he replies, mild confusion on his soft features.

"Yeah," Mari nods, content with her answer. It was something like that, at least. She vaguely remembers the name. "Endeavour, right?"

She doesn't pay attention to Heroes often, but she _does _follow her fair-share of salty anti-hero blogs, and she can clearly picture unflattering images of the pro-hero Endeavour and long-winded rants about him appearing on her timeline.

"Yes," Todoroki answers after a few moments, but he doesn't sound happy about it.

He says nothing else after this, so the two are left in a Mexican Stand-Off once more, except the Mexicans are anti-social Japanese teenagers and the guns they use are replaced with icy stares of indifference.

This time, Mari thinks in a quiet part of her head, maybe she _should _throw him a bone and say thank you, if only to end the awkward silent showdown between them.

She thinks this, but her mouth does not cooperate. She tries to say _"Thank you for your help," _but strangely, when it leaves her mouth it comes out as, **_"I didn't need your help, hero." _**

Funny that.

Todoroki hardly seems offended by this, anyway. He raises one perfectly shaped eyebrow and replies, "Not all problems can be punched away."

There's no mockery in his tone, or amusement in his eyes. It is not a teasing comment or jab at her reaction, merely a statement.

Mari wholeheartedly disagrees. "That just means you aren't punching hard enough," she counters. She pauses. Shuffles on her feet a bit, opens her mouth, and then closes it. "I did what I had to," she says to him - and god knows _why _she feels she needs to justify her actions to him.

"And some might say that it wasn't _heroic _or whatever, but sometimes being a hero is about helping yourself, too, you know?"

The blank stare he gives her says that he does not indeed know. So, she continues.

"It's like - being a hero to yourself. That slimeball reporter might not have been a _villain _or whatever to the public, but in that moment he was to me. And personal villains are important too. And that's why I punched him."

She's rambling and she knows it, and Mari doesn't think she's ever said so many words to a stranger before - let alone a _classmate, _but the words are coming out like vomit now and she can't stop them.

"Sometimes being a hero is just saving yourself, too, or punching a scummy reporter. And that's why you shouldn't tell Aizawa-sensei or the campus police, or whoever, about what just happened."

Because as justified as it may have been, she doubts her teacher or police would see it that way. And being expelled or going back to _juvie _are two things Mari doesn't plan on happening anytime soon.

Essentially, she was telling him to _shut his mouth and don't snitch _but in a much more flowery way.

Mari thinks her ranting is for nothing as she examines the listless stare in her classmate's eyes, everything she says seemingly going in one ear and out the other.

Or at least, that's what she thinks until he nods, and stares her down. "I see," he murmurs, and then he _smiles. _

Legitimately, smiles. Dimples and all.

Mari doesn't know what to do. She doesn't think she's seen him smile the entire time she's been at UA - and now she's wondering if she should be concerned.

She doesn't get to wonder for long, as he takes his leave and walks away from her without saying anything else after that

Mari blinks.

She didn't ever think she'd see the day she'd meet someone as socially awkward and _fucking weird _as she is, but there's a first time for everything, she supposes.

With a shrug, she begins walking to her first classroom.

.

.

.

Class continues as usual.

Kaminari greets her before the lesson starts, sitting on her desk and telling her stories about the "love of his life"; a girl he met in an LoL forum the night before.

Mari stifles a laugh and tells him his "girl" was undoubtedly an overweight neckbeard catfishing him.

Kaminari shoves his fingers in his ears and vehemently denies it.

.

.

.

Early morning rays shine into the classroom as Kaminari Denki discusses the latest updates of _Cyberpunk 2077 _with his pink-haired classmate. Mari Yoshizawa, the greatest enigma of his life.

The paradox.

The boldest introvert he knows, the girl who stares down her teachers and always cuts deep with her words; the girl who looks away when you make fun of her hero suit and snickers when Denki makes a fool of himself.

Mari Yoshizawa was complex, as contradicting as she is _blunt, _and Denki doesn't think he minds that about her.

She keeps him on his toes, at the very least.

They continue their discussion (well, it's less of a discussion and more Denki chattering away while Mari nods at the right times) before Kaminari offhandedly mentions that he started playing _Animal Crossing, _and Mari brightens like a switch inside her has been flicked on.

She's still not quite _smiling, _but there's excitement in her eyes as she animatedly talks about her favorite villagers that Denki has never seen in her before. Suddenly, he finds their conversational roles reversed and all Denki can do is nod as she talks game mechanics with him.

When she finishes speaking the excitement leaves, and her face drops as if realising who she was talking to - or realising how out of character that was for her.

Denki laughs, and he thinks anyone who got that excited over virtual racoons and dogs couldn't be all that villainous.

Not that there was ever any doubt in his mind in the first place, anyway.

.

.

.

Aizawa enters the room and the disapproving look he gives her is no different to his usual ones, so Mari thinks it's pretty safe to assume Todoroki didn't say anything.

Kaminari whines and returns to his desk at Aizawa's glaring and classes begin soon after that. Her teacher offers some quick comments about the fight, similar to what was said in the nurse's office yesterday.

Mari is pleased with the kick up the ass he gives Bakugou for his performance but that is short-lived as Aizawa continues quickly after that, "Same with Yoshizawa-chan. Going into fights without a plan is foolish, and you and Aoyama-kun shouldn't have approached the situation so unprepared."

Mari feels like she should be up in arms about that, cussing him out and calling him an idiot, but Aizawa is trying to help her improve - she thinks so, at least - so she narrows her eyes at him and nods, but doesn't say anything else.

Then, he announces that a class president is to be selected - and anarchy reigns free in UA for the second time that morning.

Mari thinks that she quite likes seeing the uncontrolled chaos around her, especially the annoyed shouts from Bakugou when no one votes for him.

(Of course, Mari herself voted for Midoriya - if only because she knows he'd be miserable being the class prez).

The next classes aren't nearly as entertaining. First period ends, then second and third and Mari finds herself being dragged out the classroom by Kaminari for lunch after that.

Of course, the chaos from choosing a president pales in comparison to the _hellfire and brimstone _that happens at lunch.

She's explaining the underrated aspects of the character of _Tom Nook _when the alarm bells ring, and everyone at UA promptly _looses their fucking shit. _

* * *

aight! end of the chapter! this one's a bit of a mess too ngl but a few notes!

(1) if you guys were wondering why mari wanted to be shinso's friend in the last chapter, when she shows a clear aversion to them in the previous chapter, it's because of his quirk! brainwashing is v powerful and in the eyes of mari he is, like, the perfect accomplice

(2) todoroki and mari have a history, mari is just a bit too self-absorbed to really remember it which is why todo may seem a bit OOC - or why he might seem a bit too friendly or open with her. it's not a big twist or anything, but mari is someone todoroki respects a lot and owes a lot to (even if she doesn't realise this hah)

and ooh boy, if y'all thought the punching was a bit yikes™ then buckle up, come the start of next chapter and USJ, mari pops the fuck off. so look forward to that.

(3) UA has got to have campus security, right? like it's one of the best schools in japan, wtf

(4) the 'speech' mari gives todo about 'personal villains' is utter bs that she rambles about to cover her tracks and save her own ass, but it may end up impacting todo in ways she won't expect

(5) kaminari is a league of legends player and you can't convince me otherwise. also, he totally trolls forums looking for gamer girls. he probably has a username like "xXLordDenki69420Xx"

(6) first pov scene from kaminari! (if you squint) I wanted to touch base a lil bit on Denki's emotions, I'm thinking of doing an interlude with his pov for the date, lemme know what y'all think

also mari is kind of hard to write somedays. she's a very contradicting person, in that she doesn't quite fit one archetype. especially now that she's being influenced by the people around her - so a lot of her actions and mannerisms might seem OOC, but i'd say that's because she has a lot of conflicting emotions and beliefs. so sometimes she's bad bitch™ and sometimes she a lil bitch™.

(7) mari is chaotic and lives off the panicking of others. school-wide freak out? that's her shit, man.

AND LASTLY! Thank you guys for reading the chapter and all the wicked nice comments for last chapter! i really appreciated it! and let me know if you have an opinion on the length of these author notes, if you like them longer like this or short and sweet!


	12. MARI YOSHIZAWA WANTS TO SMASH YOUR CAR

MARI YOSHIZAWA WANTS TO SMASH YOUR CAR

* * *

As Mari Yoshizawa watches her classmates, the _future heroes of Japan, _all scream like banshees and run towards the nearest exit, she imagines this is how _Ragnarok _is most likely to go down.

Yes, this is how the world ends. Not with a bang, but with screaming Japanese teenagers and surprisingly good cafeteria food.

Mari and Kaminari are still in their seats when all of UA rushes to entry points at the sound of the alarm. Mari blinks, and calmly brings her fork to her mouth.

"How loud," she mutters, annoyed.

"'Zawa-chan!"

Kaminari is out of his seat and now grabbing Mari by the arm, urging her to join the crowd. "Stop eating, _damnit! _We gotta get out of here! We've got intruders in the school!"

Mari brushes him off. "I see no danger here," she replies, taking another bite.

Kaminari whines and continues his feeble attempts to get her to move. Mari sighs and looks away from him. Her gaze lands on the large floor to ceiling windows of the cafeteria, and she pauses as she brings her fork to her mouth.

Outside the window is a horde of press and reporters, even larger than this morning. And somehow, they are now inside the school.

_Campus security, my ass, Todoroki. _

Mari can feel her anger from the morning rising again.

"There are no intruders here," she says. She stands from her seat suddenly and turns to the blonde still tugging on her sleeve. "We do, however, have a rather nasty **_vermin infestation_**."

She narrows her eyes at Kaminari, a plan already formulating in her mind. "Do you have a baseball bat on you?"

Kaminari gives her a look mixed with confusion and apprehension. _"No, why the hell would I have a-" _

Mari cuts him off. "A hammer would work, too."

He looks exasperated now. "People don't carry that kind of stuff on them, 'Zawa-chan! And why would you need one right now, anyway!"

She ignores his question and moves past him. "We have a sports department, right?"

_"Of course we do, but why-" _

"Enough talk. Let's go."

She doesn't let him say anything else. Mari grabs his hand and runs out the cafeteria doors opposite to the crowd.

_"'ZAWA-CHAN WE'RE GOING THE WRONG WAY-" _

_. _

_. _

_. _

No less than five minutes later Mari Yoshizawa stands in the parking lot of UA with an extremely confused Kaminari Denki next to her.

In her hand, a metal baseball bat.

In Kaminari's hand, a plastic fork from the cafeteria.

It was easy to find the sports department, and even easier to steal one of their bats when the teachers were too busy dealing with the students to notice.

Now, she stands in the empty parking lot with a bat on her shoulder, eyes narrowing at the multitude of news reporter vans, with their tacky logos obnoxiously painted on the side doors.

She brushes a strand of hair behind her ear and approaches the closest one.

"They never learn," she mutters, to no one in particular. Despite this, Kaminari begins speaking regardless.

"'Zawa-chan, what the hell are we doing here-"

He's cut off by a loud crashing noise, as Mari slams the bat into the windshield of the van in front of her.

It shatters immediately, glass flying in the air like deadly snow.

Distantly, she thinks she might hear Kaminari screaming in surprise behind her, but she's not paying attention. With a dramatic swing, she hits the side mirror like it's a baseball on a tee and whistles as she watches it fly off.

Maybe she should quit this whole hero gig and become a baseball player instead.

She moves to the side of the car.

She raises her bat.

**_"YOSHIZAWA-"_**

She dents the doors.

**_"WHAT-"_**

Slams down on the tacky logo.

**_"THE-"_**

Beats down the second side mirror.

**_"FUCK-"_**

And smashes the passenger windows.

She goes to move to the next car, but two hands are placed on her shoulders _(an extraordinarily bold move to touch her when she's holding a baseball bat, might she add)_ and Kaminari is holding her back.

He spins her to face him.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

She responds to his shouting with cool indifference. "Teaching them a lesson," she replies. Kaminari seems to pause at this. "These are the same reporters that were harassing students this morning. The fact that they _dare _to come back is not only laughable but deserves punishment."

Even if Mari didn't consider herself a _hero _just yet, she could see herself becoming something of a vigilante.

Though she'd be a vigilante without any vigilance. Which, really, just left her with the _ante _and a downright malicious personality.

But that's beside the point.

Kaminari blinks at her. He has that expression that he usually makes when she says something outrageous and he laughs about it, but this time there is no humour in his voice when he speaks.

"I can't believe you'd do something so reckless!" he says. This is quickly followed by, "Well, actually, I _can _believe it but it doesn't mean I condone it!"

And here it comes. The lecture she's heard a thousand times over.

_That's unethical. You can't do that. That's not right. Heroes don't do that _and blah blah blah.

She narrows her eyes at him, preparing to snap back with a retort of her own but the grip on her shoulders is loosened. No longer a controlling grasp but rather something more like a tender hold.

It's a strange feeling.

Even stranger is the way Kaminari's face softens when he asks her, "What if you got hurt?"

And this time, Mari is the one who finds herself utterly confused and dumbfounded. _"What?" _she echoes. _"That's _what you were worried about?"

"Yes, of course!" he all but shouts back.

That was... Absolutely ridiculous.

Who sees someone committing vandalism and thinks, "oh I hope they don't hurt themselves"?

Ridiculous. Completely, utterly ridiculous.

And incredibly endearing.

"I'll… be careful when I do it..?"

Though Mari sounds entirely unconvinced when she says this, it seems to placate Kaminari nonetheless.

He smiles at her, something sweet that in no way belongs with what he says next. "Now how about we fry their engines so they can't drive away," he suggests, removing his hand from her to show sparks of electricity now coming off it.

Mari laughs.

How she made it this long in life without such useful accomplices (friends) she'll never know.

.

.

.

Shigaraki Tomura can hardly believe his eyes.

When he broke into UA he was expecting resistance, for sure, but he was not expecting to see to UA students - supposed _future heroes - _in the parking lot smashing cars like common delinquents.

It was just so... inconceivable.

This can't be real. This is a glitch, surely. This kind of violence shouldn't be in the programming of some UA hero kids.

Was this an Easter Egg from the game developers? What else could explain this kind of behaviour from an NPC?

Shigaraki might have laughed at the ridiculousness of it all if he thought was still capable of it.

.

.

.

"I don't think that car is one of the reporters', 'Zawa-chan."

Kaminari might have a good point.

Most reporters didn't own expensive exported cars. Let alone a 1957 Vintage American Red Chevy. It's completely unlike the rest of the cars in the parking lot, and likely worth a lot more.

It has a large and obnoxious gold All Might Bust for a hood ornament and it pisses Mari off, so she slams her bat there first. Despite what Kaminari says.

She smashes the windshield too, just for good measure. She then pauses to look around. All the reporter's cars are well and truly _fucked up _now and she's quite pleased with her work.

"Nice job," she tells Kaminari, and she means it.

It took them a while, and they've definitely missed all of lunch, but it was well worth it, she thinks.

She reaches into her pocket to check the time on her phone and blinks at the notification on it.

**_You have (1) one new message from [Shinso Hitoshi]_**

It takes her a moment to realise she's actually _receiving a text message from someone _(a bizarre enough concept as it is) and that it's from her brainwashing accomplice, of all people.

She blinks at the screen again.

She must have been staring at it for a while because Kaminari leans over her shoulder to see what she's doing.

"Who the hell is Shinso-"

He begins, but Mari ignores him for the most part and opens the message.

**Shinso Hitoshi **(1:14pm)

_ please tell me that wasn't you who I just saw smashing cars in the parking lot _

Something like laughter bubbles in her throat but she doesn't let it show. She begins typing a reply.

**Mari Yoshizawa** (1:14pm)

_ There's no way you can prove that was me. _

"How's he got your number and I don't-"

For once, Kaminari brings up a good point with his whining. Mari certainly never gave her number to him.

She looks down at her screen and sees a new notification.

** _[Shinso Hitoshi] is now online_ **

**Shinso Hitoshi **(1:15pm)

_ ok so it was definitely you then _

**Mari Yoshizawa** (1:15pm)

_ Snitches get stitches, Shinso._

**Mari Yoshizawa** (1:15pm)

_ Also, how did you get my number? _

**Shinso Hitoshi **(1:15pm)

_ i googled u _

She's surprised he'd go to that much effort, to be honest. There are three new dancing bubbles next to his name now and Mari blinks at them.

She shows them to Kaminari, who is still peering over her shoulder. "What do those mean?" she asks.

"The dots?"

Mari nods.

"It means he's typing a message." He explains, and there's no condescension or mocking in his tone. It's appreciated.

Mari doesn't text often… or really, _ ever, _so she's glad he's here to explain.

After what seems like a longer-than-necessary time to type, the next message comes in. Mari catches a glimpse of it before suddenly becoming hyper-aware of the blonde next to her. She quickly turns off her phone-screen and sends a pointed _ look _his way.

Kaminari laughs. "Yeah, I get it. Private messages and whatever," he says but he makes no indication of moving.

Electric gold eyes stare her down.

"Give me your number and I'll head back to class now."

Mari purses her lips and returns his stare. After a moment, it becomes clear this is something Kaminari will not budge on. And it's probably for the best if they exchange numbers for any future plans of delinquency she needs help for.

Kaminari gets out his phone and enters her details in. Her name is added with a plethora of _questionable _emojis, but they pale in comparison to the messages she gets from him.

** _You have (4) four new messages from [dank man denki]_ **

** dank man denki **(1:18pm)

_ send nudes_

**dank man denki **(1:18pm)

_ Haha just kidding…_

**dank man denki **(1:18pm)

_ ...unless?_

**dank man denki **(1:19pm)

_ also, save this number lol _

She doesn't understand anything that was just sent to her, but she gets the distinct feeling she does not want to.

Kaminari smiles at her when she saves his number, but he grabs her phone off her when it's time to enter his nickname.

** _[Mari Yoshizawa] changed [dank man denki]'s chat name to [hot man denki_****_]_ **

He hands her phone back and she frowns. "Why are there so many sweat emojis next to your name?" a pause. Then, "And who's Denki?"

Kaminari laughs. "It's my first name. I think once you've committed a crime with someone you can go on a first-name basis."

That sounded reasonable enough. Mari shuffles on her feet. "You can call me Mari, then," she offers, and does not expect the way Kaminari - or rather, _ Denki _\- shouts in excitement at this.

"Ah! Mari-chan~! Such a cute name!"

Mari is not used to hearing her first name said with such fondness, or being said _ at all _by a classmate so all she can is stare as he tells her goodbye and that he'll see her in class.

After a moment she opens her chat with Shinso again, staring at the message she left open.

**Shinso Hitoshi **(1:17pm)

_ did u actually kill someone? _

There are more messages since she looked last.

**Shinso Hitoshi **(1:19pm)

_ why arent you answering _

**Shinso Hitoshi **(1:19pm)

_ oh god its true isnt it you totally did _

**Mari Yoshizawa** (1:19pm)

_ Legally, I have to say no to that. _

**Shinso Hitoshi **(1:19pm)

_ ua has such low standards im gonna fucking scream_

**Mari Yoshizawa** (1:20pm)

_ You're being dramatic. _

**Shinso Hitoshi **(1:20pm)

_ im not taking that from the girl who punched a reporter this morning _

**Shinso Hitoshi **(1:20pm)

_ and beat up two schoolchildren yesterday _

**Shinso Hitoshi **(1:20pm)

_ and smashed all the cars in the parking lot five minutes ago _

**Mari Yoshizawa** (1:20pm)

_ You saw me punch the reporter? _

**Shinso Hitoshi **(1:21pm)

_ it was hard to ignore the screams of pain _

**Shinso Hitoshi **(1:21pm)

_ is ur hobby just vandalism and violence or something _

**Mari Yoshizawa** (1:21pm)

_ It's not a hobby. _

**Mari Yoshizawa** (1:21pm)

_ It's a passion. _

**Shinso Hitoshi **(1:21pm)

_ i- _

** _[Shinso Hitoshi] is now offline_ **

And this time Mari does laugh, closing the messenger app with a small chuckle.

.

.

.

She returns to class halfway through the lesson and Aizawa gives her a half-hearted scolding. It doesn't seem like she and Denki missed much, anyway. Midoriya is no longer vice president (sad, but she'll live) and four-eyes is the new big kahuna which really makes no difference to her.

Class ends, Mari goes home, and she winds down a day well spent by watching some television after dinner.

She's observing the scratches of her hands from her baseball swinging when the television program begins. She has a trashy hero talk show on, the kind that dishes out fake stories and gossip about Heroes.

It's one of her favourites, after all. All they do is make fun of pro-heroes. What more could a girl ask for?

The first story on is supposedly 'breaking news' which means its something mildly interesting that they'll blow out of proportion.

The angry face of Sweaty Fire Man, better known as _Endeavour, _appears on the screen.

"The number two hero did his nightly patrols with a _black eye _tonight-"

The screen shows a blurred image, but it does indeed show Endeavour with a swollen eye and purple marks forming.

"I wonder what villain was bold enough to do that to him," one of the talk show hosts says.

"I'd quite like to give Endeavour a black eye myself." retorts the other and they share a laugh together.

Endeavour's busted mug is shown on screen again and Mari snickers, but thinks nothing else of it.

.

.

.

* * *

**_Extras (1)_**

Yagi Toshinori, the symbol of peace, hums a jazzy tune as he leaves UA that day.

Another long day of teaching, the sky well and truly dark by now, but another day spent enriching the lives of our youth. Which really, was worth the overtime.

He swings his keys around his fingers and approaches the parking lot.

The parking lot is empty for the most part, but there are a few vans that usually aren't there this hour. And strangely, the vans are well and truly _destroyed, _with smashed windows and glass littering the parking lot.

Toshinori frowns. It was surely the work of the uncouth reporters that broke into the school today.

He sympathises with the owners of the cars, he really does.

As a car enthusiast himself he couldn't imagine what it would be like to have his car damaged.

Toshinori isn't a _vain _person, but he does enjoy certain luxuries in his life.

Luxuries like cool American cars, like _Sally, _his 1957 Vintage American Red Chevy.

It cost a lot, even with his hero's salary, but it was and truly worth it.

As he turns to the corner to where he parked his car, he freezes. He stops his humming and just _stares. _

He drops to his knees.

His Sally, his precious, _beautiful, _Sally that was meant to outlive him-

Is covered in dents. The windows are broken, and his hood ornament is gone.

Toshinori looks up the sky and curses the heavens.

Toshinori mourns a great loss that day.

* * *

**_Extras (2)_**

Mari Yoshizawa is lying on her bed when her phone vibrates.

Her phone vibrating is of note, because she rarely gets notifications from anyone aside from Denki these days.

She turns on the screen and squints.

**_You have (1) one new message from [Shinso Hitoshi]_**

Mari does her not-quite-a-smile smile and rolls on her side to read the message.

**Shinso Hitoshi **(6:48pm)

_ do u want to train this weekend _

**Mari Yoshizawa** (6:50pm)

_ What time? _

**_[Shinso Hitoshi] is now online_ **

**Shinso Hitoshi **(6:50pm)

_ sat at noon? _

**Mari Yoshizawa** (6:51pm)

_ I can fit you in, I suppose. _

**Shinso Hitoshi **(6:51pm)

_ oh thank u for letting a humble peasant like me into ur oh so busy schedule _

**Mari Yoshizawa** (6:51pm)

_ Don't get used to it. _

**Mari Yoshizawa** (6:52pm)

_ B)_

**Shinso Hitoshi **(6:52pm)

_ is that meant to be an emoji _

**Mari Yoshizawa** (6:52pm)

_ It is one. _

**Shinso Hitoshi **(6:52pm)

_ were you born in the 90s no one does them like that anymore _

**Mari Yoshizawa** (6:52pm)

_ How do people convey emotion over text then? _

**_[Shinso Hitoshi] sent you a gif_ **

**Shinso Hitoshi **(6:53pm)

_ tv show gifs and unnecessary typing styles mainly _

**Mari Yoshizawa** (6:53pm)

_ Hoew did you do that?_

**Mari Yoshizawa** (6:53pm)

_ *How? _

**_[Shinso Hitoshi] changed [Mari Yoshizawa]'s chat name to [ok boomer]_ **

** ok boomer** (6:54pm)

_ What the fuck _

**Shinso Hitoshi **(6:54pm)

_ how r u so out of touch _

**Shinso Hitoshi **(6:54pm)

_ ur a 15 year old girl how is this possible _

**Shinso Hitoshi **(6:54pm)

_ ur not secretly a thousand year old demon that has transported to our dimension are u? _

**Shinso Hitoshi **(6:55pm)

_ cause that would explain a lot _

** _[ok boomer] changed [[Shinso Hitoshi]'s chat name to [Drama Queen]_ **

**ok boomer** (7:02pm)

_ Witness my demonic power. _

** Drama Queen **(7:02pm)

_ who taught u how to change names _

**ok boomer** (7:02pm)

_ I googled it. _

**ok boomer** (7:03pm)

_ B) _

**Drama Queen **(7:03pm)

_ oh my god _

** _[Drama Queen] is now offline_**

* * *

woooooooh weee two chapters in a week who am i?

author notes:

(1) The line "Yes, this is how the world ends. Not with a bang, but with screaming Japanese teenagers and surprisingly good cafeteria food." is a parody of the T.S Elliot Poem The Hollow Men. The original line is "the world ends/ Not with a bang but a whimper" if you were wondering why it might sound familiar.

(2) ! the whole car scene was heavily inspired by another bnha fic by the wonderful author razbliuto. in her fic "I Carry Your Heart" the main character also smashes a bunch of cars, and its a super powerful scene. I highly recommend that fic and her work because *chef kisses* I love everything she writes and she is such a massive inspiration to me. i wanted to do a similar thing with Mari, obviously without copying and putting a spin on it. so please I cannot emphasise enough you guys should check her out!

(3) daddy dry lips has entered the chat. i was really debating if I should include a short pov from shigaraki, but I thought it might add a lil more sustenance to the conversation he and mari will have in the next chapter. also I know he talks in video game speak, and that it's like, canon, but its still so ridiculous. the head of the League of Villians is such a fucking nerd, I cant even oh my god

(4) i wanted to include some text message conversations, but oh my god I'm so bad at formating them rip

(5) mari shoos kaminari away when she gets the text from shinso because she's used to people not wanting to talk to her when they find out about her sketchy criminal record. i imagine she fears people she cares about finding out, because whenever they do that's usually when they leave her.

(6) denki, aka dank man denki, is a memelord. i guarantee he is a fucking clown to talk to over text. and i also made him such a simp in this chapter, ngl. but still! he and Mari are finally on a first name basis! whooo! i didn't touch on it much but I imagine this would be a pretty huge moment for Mari, as before that the only people to call her by her given name would be her family

(7) it is cannon that mari watches and enjoys trashy talk shows about heroes. i imagine she makes popcorn and stays up at night binging them while cackling.

(8) i had some extra bits that i wanted to touch on so i added them at the end. sort of like, omakes or short specials. henceforth, you get to read about all might crying for his car and shinso interacting with boomer mari.

all might is 1000% the kind of guy who loves collecting vintage American stuff, especially cars.

also mari is pretty good with tech usually. she follows quite a few blogs as mentioned in the last chapter, and she plays a lot of video games. However, she's absolutely horrible at texting as she's never really had anyone in her life to text before this. So for now, Mari is totally a texting boomer. The meme texts she receives from Denki confuse her, and shinso likes messing with her by fucking around with the chat

thanks for reading, see you guys all next chapter!

ALSO! NEXT CHAPTER IS USJ! It was meant to be this one but as usual, i got carried away lmao

EXPECT BAD BANTER, CHARACTERS GETTING THEIR ASSES WHOOPED AND GUNS! (cause guns are fun)


	13. MARI YOSHIZAWA WANTS TO SHOOT BAD GUYS

MARI YOSHIZAWA WANTS TO SHOOT BAD GUYS

* * *

(and you'd be a fool to think gun laws would stop her from doing so)

.

.

.

When Mari Yoshizawa wakes up that morning she feels… _off. _

There's a strange feeling sinking in her stomach that she can't explain.

Even _stranger _than the text message she receives from Denki that morning, simply just _"am i getting this bread or is this bread getting me" _with more strange emojis that Mari does not reply to.

If only because she doesn't know what the _fuck _he's on about and because with this feeling looming over her, she's not in a chatty mood.

Unlike Denki's message, the feeling is less _mind-boggling _than it is _ominous. _

Her stomach is lurching the way it does before a large drop on a rollercoaster, or twisting and turning with nervous anticipation like when your teacher is handing out test papers.

If Mari were a superstitious person she would say it's a bad omen for what's to come later in the day. But she's not, so Mari blames it on her mother's dubious-at-best cooking skills and tries not to think about it on the train ride to school.

.

.

.

Mari Yoshizawa's day continues to get stranger from there.

.

.

.

During her first class, Aizawa is hoarding the students in the change rooms to get ready for an excursion that Mari vaguely remembers him mentioning.

Rescue training, he said.

It sounded pretty worthless to Mari, but a day without Present Mic's _questionable English_ is a day well spent, in her opinion.

Mari is waiting by the bus in her hero outfit when she hears a voice speaking to her suddenly.

She knows it is not Denki vying for her attention as it usually is, because never in a million years would Kaminari Denki start a conversation with a soft-spoken,_ "excuse me." _

No, Denki was far more fond of tugging on her sleeve or shouting, _"hey, hey, Mari-chan!" _and he was usually far _louder _about it.

Not to mention, it couldn't be Denki anyway, because he's standing next to her already running his mouth about something, as he had been since they left the classroom.

So while Mari was expecting it not to be Denki, she _most definitely _wasn't expecting it to be Todoroki, either.

She gives him a curious look (though really, it was probably something more like a suspicious _glare) _which prompts him to speak. He clears his throat and makes tentative eye contact with her.

"I wanted to thank you for your advice yesterday," he begins. "It helped me a lot, in ways I didn't expect."

Mari does not reply to that, largely because her brain is still trying to figure out _what the fuck _Todoroki was talking about, but he ignores her silence and continues. "It gave me hope and…" he pauses and clenches his fist. He seemed to do that a lot when they were speaking, like some reject shounen-protag giving a dramatic speech.

"It gave me the power to change. To stand up against my personal villains."

And with these words, it becomes _abundantly _clear what he is talking about. Apparently, her nonsensical ranting about punching that asswipe reporter struck a chord with him.

Though, really, she wonders who the perpetually level-headed Todoroki wanted to punch-

And then she suddenly is reminded of the news story she saw the night before, of the number two hero doing his patrols with a bruised face.

And then it all _clicks. _

And Mari Yoshizawa finds herself bent over and laughing the hardest she has ever laughed in her life because **_Todoroki Shoto just gave his father a black eye._**

It is not a simple snicker or chuckle her classmates are likely used to, but instead a bone-rattling, belly laugh that is likely heard all over the UA car park. Mari clutches her body as her body shakes with mirth and her laughter echoes around her.

Her classmates can only look on, confused, wondering what the fuck had happened to their antisocial and stoic devil classmate.

"She's finally lost it!" she hears one exclaim, the boy with tape coming out of his arms, and that only makes her laugh more.

There are tears in her eyes and _her stomach is hurting but she does not care. _

"Oh my **_god," _**she finally manages after a few moments, in between breathless laughs. She places her hands on Todoroki's shoulders, who looks thoroughly alarmed at her response to his words. "That is the **best ****_fucking _****thing **I've heard all day," she tells him, looking directly into his confused heterochromatic eyes.

She doesn't know why his father is his _personal villain, _nor does she really care that much, but the thought that this 15-year old lanky child just _decked _his father (the number two hero in all of _Japan, _not to mention) before he went on patrol is **_absolutely hilarious _**to her.

**_What a fucking legend._**

"You're my hero, Todoroki," she tells him, and at that moment she genuinely means it.

Mari _cannot _wait to put this on Tumblr and tear Sweaty Fire Man to _shreds. _

Todoroki does nothing but stare at her for a few moments, and he doesn't get the chance to say anything after that as Aizawa arrives and loads them onto the bus moments later.

.

.

.

Once on the bus, the high from her laughing fit has now worn off and her classmates now seem convinced that she has not, indeed, "_ lost it" _(not that she had it in the first place, really).

Denki is seated next to her and she brushes off his questions about what happened between her and Todoroki. She would much rather keep that to herself, she thinks.

And if Denki really wanted the_ "juicy deets" _that he asked for, he would have to wait for her blog post about it later tonight like everyone else.

Now that the fanfare has died down, her classmates have taken to discussing their quirks. She doesn't pay attention for the most part, merely continuing to read her book (today it was _Devils _by Fyodor Dostoevsky) though she does snicker when she hears Denki refer to Bakugou's personality to a "turd getting steamed in a sewer."

Honestly, it is a very proud moment for their friendship.

_Atta boy, Denki_.

However, her snickering causes more than a few heads to be turned to her direction. One boy, with rippling abs and spiky red hair tilts his head at her. "Come to think of it, the only person's quirk we haven't seen being used is Yoshizawa-san's."

At his comment a few noises of agreement are made. And they did have a point, she supposes. The last time she used her quirk was the UA Entrance exam, if you didn't include when she beat up those boys for Shinso.

Now, even more eyes are on her, but strangely she does not feel the need to stare them down. Unlike in middle school, the way people stare at her are less fearful and angry than they are... Curious.

And that was it. Just curious. Nothing malicious about it that she can tell (excluding Bakugou's stare of course).

It's a strange experience, but by far the least strange of everything that occurred that morning already.

"Ah! Mari-chan, they're right! I don't even know your quirk!"

Kaminari's words cause a few of her classmates to stutter, and Midoriya seems to almost _choke _repeating the phrase _"Mari-chan..?!" _incredulously under his breath, in such a low whisper that he likely thinks she would not hear it.

She does, but ignores it anyway.

Mari turns a page in her book.

"I'm quirkless," she answers after a few moments, voice purposely flat.

She says this because revealing her quirk is really the last thing she wants to right now, and because she is unsure she could endure stares like that for much longer. Somehow, they are worse than the ones with malicious intent.

Those stares she understood, at the very least.

"No way!" says Denki next to her, and her other classmates let out similar remarks of disbelief.

_"How manly!" _she hears the red-haired one say. A strange thing to be associated with being quirkless, in her opinion. She certainly never put the word "manly" with "quirkless Deku" during Middle School.

Mari ignores their reactions for the most part and returns to her reading.

_'Full freedom will come only when it makes no difference whether to live or not to live _\- _' _she does not get any further than this line as Bakugo's eyes drilling holes in her head interrupt makes it hard for her to focus.

"She's not _fucking _quirkless," he growls.

Across the bus, she does not miss the way Midoriya still tenses at the word being said with such distaste from Bakugou's mouth.

Mari opens her mouth with the goal to insult Bakugou, but she does not get the chance too.

"She can possess people," Midoriya begins suddenly.

Mari's eyes widen and a hush falls over the bus and the green-haired boy continues. "She has to make eye contact when she does it, and she can feel everything the person's body would feel. Her own body passes out when she does it."

Mari should say something, stop him from revealing her _villainous _quirk to all of these _heroes, _but her mouth feels too dry and the sinking feeling in her stomach is only getting worse.

When no one speaks up to interrupt him, Midoriya takes this as an opportunity to do what he does best and begins to launch into one of his infamous mumbling sessions.

_"From my observations, she lasts about two minutes before her nose bleeds. Of course, there are other factors - like her stamina and the body type of the person… I assume the quirk of the person must factor in as well, but I'm not sure. It makes me wonder, though, what would happen if Yoshizawa-san were to possess someone like Hagakure-chan... Would she be able to use her quirk…? If she possessed Ojiro-kun would she have control of his tail, too, since it's a part of his body..?" _

He spews facts and theories about her quirk that Mari herself wasn't aware of. She would be angry at him for revealing her quirk and all it's dirty details to their classmates (including the _vulnerabilities _of her power) if she was not too busy wondering just how closely Midoriya watched her in Middle School for him to know all this.

She certainly didn't know this much about his _supposed_ quirk. And even with the boy's history with collecting and analysing information about hero quirks, this was strange to her.

She wasn't a hero, for starters, and she didn't use her quirk that much in school anyway.

She was far less "trigger happy" in that regard compared to Bakugou, and unlike him most of the time when she _did _use it, she did so in such a way that there would be no one around to know she did.

Very, very strange.

Midoriya's ranting rampage is only stopped when Kaminari turns to her and asks, "Is that true, Mari-chan?!"

A part of her wants to say no.

A part of her wants to laugh and tell him Midoriya's lying.

A part of her wants to say there's no way she'd have a quirk that _villainous _and that _It's not that bad, really (__so please don't be scared of me, please don't leave, I'll be a good girl, I won't use it, Onesan, please don't go, i didnt kill him, i didnt kill him, i didnt kill him, onesan make it all go away.)_

But a bigger part of her tells her that she should be proud of her power. That she is strong, and all these heroes need to _know it. _A bigger part of her wants them to fear her.

She tilts her head at him. "You got me," she answers. Then she lets out a short, humourless laugh. "I do have a quirk. A cool one, too. Can you imagine how embarrassing it'd be to _actually _be quirkless?"

Her eyes flicker to Midoriya as she says this. She does it brief enough that none of her classmates' notice, but long enough to see the ashamed expression on his face.

Small and petty, petty revenge, but worth it.

_Think twice before you reveal my secrets, Deku. _

With the cat out the bag the conversation shifts away from her and to speculation of what the rescue training would entail.

Denki doesn't quite let it go. "It suits you," he says. "Your quirk, I mean. It suits you."

And strangely, Mari thinks he means that in a nice way.

She snickers and shakes her head.

_What a Denki thing to say. _

Mari goes back to reading.

.

.

.

Aizawa doesn't really want to be here.

For starters, the school bus to USJ was _noisy, _and now he's got a headache. Which is only adding to his trepidation for this excursion.

He knows USJ will be good for students, it did wonders for some of his previous classes, but he cannot help but worry.

He's not sure _what _he's worried about, but there's been a foreboding feeling in his bones since he woke up this morning.

Something about his gut doesn't like this all, and even as he watches his students interact with Thirteen, even though he knows they're in the hands of two very _capable _heroes (which would have been three, had Yagi not spent the morning butting his nose into other people's business, as he often does) he cannot help but think there's something _off _about this all.

That even though he _knows _they are just doing rescue exercises, and that he's getting worked up for nothing - he can't help but be on guard.

And because Aizawa is so paranoid that day, he is the first to notice something amiss.

He's the first to notice the subtle ripples in the air as a hand appears from the ground below them. The hand is followed by a man's face, ghastly white and malnourished. With him comes a horde of _villains_ (because they could not be anything else)

No, not with those weapons in their hands and those bloodthirsty looks in their eyes.

Aizawa knew those _looks, _all too well.

The one covered in hands speaks first, the _leader, _Aizawa assumes. Once the word _itinerary_ leaves his mouth it becomes clear that they were the ones behind the break in yesterday, too.

This was planned. _Damn it. _

Aizawa is the first to move. He pulls his goggles to his face and unwraps his scarves. Thirteen is the second, assuming a defensive position and shielding the students behind them.

Their eyes meet and they share an unspoken thought.

_Protect the children. _

Mari Yoshizawa is the third person to move.

Aizawa is mid-speaking when she does. _"All of you, stay back! And let the adults handle this!"_

His words are for naught because in the corner of his eye he can see a flash of pink and silver, and he sees Yoshizawa immediately sprinting towards the closest one. Incidentally, the leader of all people.

Of course, she would be the only student to directly disobey what he literally just said; it was far too in character for her.

Yoshizawa moves faster than he's ever seen her move before, almost faster than his eyes can track, but he still manages to spot what is in her hand when she does. Mostly because the sunlight hits it and reflects off the silver.

Aizawa should probably be stopping her but at that moment he is far too occupied with the safety of the rest of his students, and there is only one thing Aizawa can think of.

**_"Who the fuck gave Yoshizawa a gun," _**is all that goes through his head.

Despite guns being _illegal, _and increasingly obsolete in a quirk society, and the fact that Mari Yoshizawa is only _15 _and should not own, nor know how to use a gun, she shoots it with such ease that had not known better, he would think Mari Yoshizawa was professionally trained how to use them.

She does not so much as flinch at the heavy recoil (surprisingly heavy) from the pastel pink (yes, _pastel pink, _it's such bad taste Aizawa might've laughed were it not so illegal to own) and silver gun in her hands.

**_Bang, _**

Goes the first shot, in the hand-man's right shoulder.

**_Bang, _**

Goes the second, in his ribcage.

The hand man staggers back, red eyes narrowing. He mutters something like, _"the.. glitch...?" _as he stares down his student.

Aizawa does not like the way he looks at her, not by a long shot.

When Yoshizawa then aims her third shot it becomes clear that she's aiming for his _vital points, _and that she is shooting to _kill, _rather than neutralise.

With this realisation, Aizawa's brain snaps back into gear and he uses his scarves to pull her to him before she can do any more damage.

He is mid-rescuing Yoshizawa when USJ suddenly gets a lot darker. He looks up, and the warping-quirk villain is above them, enveloping them all in his dark mist.

.

.

.

Mari Yoshizawa really should have stayed in bed that morning.

She should have known to, should have turned off her phone and gone back to sleep after that stupid text message from Denki.

**hot man denki **(7:08am)

_am i getting this bread or is the bread getting me_

Perhaps the bread is getting her, she thinks, because she can offer no other explanation as to why this day has spiralled so wildly out of control.

* * *

whooo! new chapter for you guys! it may not be good, or have anything happen in it, but it is indeed a chapter. but aight lets just jump right into these author notes bb

(1) LET'S GET THIS BREAD GAMERS

(2) apparently the only things that bring mari happiness in this fic is todoroki punching his dad and animal crossing, honestly, same though. also, I imagine the whole todo scene would have been so confusing from todo's perspective. he tells some girl he punched his dad and she like, cries in laughter about it. poor todo lmao. i imagine on some levels, though, he'd be happy just to make someone else happy.

(3) it occurred to me when writing the bus scene that like, no one aside from bakugou and deku knew mari's quirk. which prompted me to write that scene that quickly went out of control and introduced a whole bunch of b-plot for no reason. but I digress. this chaotic way of writing is how I've been doing it for years and I ain't gonna stop now.

also my mido. my boy. poor deku. he just wanted to talk about quirks and mari hits him with that drive-by insult for no reason smh. deku deserves better.

(4) I chose the book today to be Devils by my homeboy dostoevsky. because once again I think it can be applied to Mari's character a lot. It goes by a few other names depending on the translation like "Demons" or "The Possessed" but "Devils" is the one on my copy and it felt most fitting for my girl.

but seriously? revolution? radical youth fucking shit up? very mari-like imo

(5) mari is very conflicted in the bus scene. on one hand, she's arrogant and likes to brag about her quirk, and on the other hand she is nervous bringing up her quirk because people call her villainous when she does. thus, shes very confused and doesn't know how to feel when midoriya reveals it.

and though it isn't mentioned, I imagine denki's lines mean a lot to her! he's the first person to react positively to her quirk, even though he doesn't say that directly. what a good boy.

(6) poor aizawa. my man deserves a vacation. he didn't sign up for this guns bs when he became a teacher smh

(7) mari has a pastel pink gun. did you guys expect anything else? when she breaks the law she does so in *style*

(8) fear the bread. it will get you, too.

Thanks for reading!


	14. MARI YOSHIZAWA WANTS BETTER VILLAINS

in which mari calls out shigaraki on being a soy boy, declares that she wants to kill all might and probably gives aizawa several heart attacks in a row. enjoy!

* * *

MARI YOSHIZAWA WANTS BETTER VILLAINS IN HER STORY

* * *

(because the hand-man is a little _bitch _and no one can convince her otherwise)

.

.

.

The sound of my sister's voice, nasally and perpetually off-key, is not what wakes me up that night.

I'd long since grown accustomed to her singing, the noise of what you'd think couldn't be anything else other than _an overweight cat giving birth, _now going in one ear and out the other with ease.

We shared a room for a little bit, when dad was painting her's (reluctantly, I might add, into the _hot pink _colour she had been demanding for months), and I quickly adapted to it.

Instead, what wakes me is the sound of laughter.

It's 3am, my alarm clock tells me, so _of course _Yua is awake.

I slide on my black bunny slippers and drag my feet to the living room. Unsurprisingly, Yua is there. She's got one of her trashy reality TV shows on, the blue light from the TV illuminating her pale body, and she's giggling to herself while looking into a tiny pink compact mirror.

Popcorn and hair-curlers litter the living room floor, and _Katy Perry _is playing from her laptop. Undoubtedly, another one of her "late night makeovers" despite it being a Wednesday night and the both of us having school tomorrow.

"Oneesan," I call out from the doorway with a whine.

She doesn't seem to hear me, continuing to inspect herself in the mirror. She has on one of her strange green facemasks, the ones that I tell her make her look like a seaweed monster.

_"Oneesan," _I try again, shuffling into the room and turning on the ceiling light.

The seaweed monster, sensitive to bright lights, jumps in surprise before turning to me. The surprise turns to recognition and she furrows her eyebrows at me.

"Mari-tan," she begins, still using that childish nickname despite me being almost twelve now. "What are you doing up so late?"

I scoff at her. "I was going to ask you the same thing, Yua-nee." I sweep some popcorn out of the way before sitting on the floor next to her. Now that I was up, I likely wouldn't fall back to sleep.

And I couldn't help but notice that she has last week's episode of _Keeping Up with Kamui _on, the episode I missed out on watching because she'd gone out that night and didn't return until the morning again.

She purses her lips at me but says nothing else. I watch TV with her in silence for a while, glancing at Yua in the corner of my eye.

"_Yua-nee," _I say during the commercial break, curiosity winning over. "What are you doing?"

She hums at me and continues to run her fingers through her hair, rubbing the strange substance in it. "I'm dying my hair, Mari-tan. The roots are showing and we simply can't have that."

I squint at her and do indeed notice the black streaks now coming from the crown of her head. I absentmindedly toy with my own black hair.

"What colour are you going this time?" I ask, reaching for the popcorn bowl in her lap. I hope it wasn't the same ugly green she had now. She really _did _look like a seaweed monster with that.

She grins at me, her own fanged teeth glinting in the light. "Pink," she says.

I scrunch my face. "Of course you are."

She merely laughs at my comment. Then the laughter in her eyes turns to something more dangerous, more cunning.

I tense, whenever Yua has that look on her face someone around her is sure to face the consequences.

"Let's dye your hair, Mari-tan!"

I immediately deadpan. "No way in hell, Yua-nee."

"Aww! But you'll look so cute! We can give you a nice cute bob, too!"

She inches closer to me in excitement as she says this and I inch back in retaliation, holding my hair protectively to my chest. "You have your own long hair to cut, Yua-nee. Why does mine have to suffer?"

She laughs again but it's more the kind of devilish cackle that only a 16-year old teenage girl can produce.

"Tsk, tsk, my naive Mari-tan. I frame my hair to hide my 'seaweed monster' face as you would say. But your face is so cute! You can't hide behind that boring black hair of yours forever! It's a crime against humanity!"

"No way, Yua-nee. Pink hair is _weird." _

"And you're a cute lil weirdo! It's perfect!"

Judging by the determined look in my sister's eyes, it seems like this was not something she'd budge on. And once Yua had her mind set, there were very few things in this world that could change it.

I sigh. "You'll cut it _even, _right?"

She squeals in excitement and quickly sits behind me. "Of course I will, Mari-tan!" She begins gathering my long black hair in her hands. "You're gonna love this haircut so much you'll keep it all throughout high school! I guarantee it!"

_"Fat chance of that happening, Yua-nee." _

* * *

The sound of screaming wakes Mari Yoshizawa up from her deep sleep.

She blinks and blearily sits up while brushing strands of pink hair out of her face. It takes a while for her vision to return to her and for the grogginess in her mind to clear.

The first thing she notices is the massive headache she has, as well the dull ache she feels throughout most of her body.

The second thing she notices is Kaminari Denki, kneeling next to her and staring at her intently.

"You're awake!" He says, quite obviously.

"That I am," she murmurs back. She turns her head to face him. "Do you always watch your classmates sleep, Denki?"

"Hey!" he says, pointing a finger at her. "I'm not the weird one here! I was only watching because I was worried!"

Putting the absurd notion that anyone could actually _worry _about her aside, Mari scoffs at him. "Spoken like a true creep."

"I really was! You were the only one who got knocked out by that weird warping dude's quirk -" come to think of it, she did remember being restrained by Aizawa before freefalling into the USJ mountain range - "And you weren't waking up! You were having, like, a nightmare or something!"

A nightmare? That was … strange. From what she remembers of her dream it was quite the happy memory.

Denki continues, "And you kept saying this name _over and over again _and I didn't know what to do-"

She narrows her eyes. "A name?"

He nods. "You kept calling out to '_Yua-nee' _and no matter how much I shook you you wouldn't get up!"

Hearing the name on someone else's lips after so many years is like an elbow to the gut. Or maybe, something closer to a knife to the back.

_Yua-nee... _

But she pushes down the feeling of resentment and ignores it, instead focusing on how very stressed out the boy in front of her is.

"Momo and Jirou - they're holding back the villains, and I, I don't know what's happening- everything has kind of gone to shit real fast and I-"

He's muttering like Midoriya now which is never a good sign. "Denki," she says, very calmly. He continues his nervous chattering and she places a hand on his knee. _"Denki, _breathe."

He stops and looks her in the eye. He's terrified.

How very unlike her annoying loudmouth classmate.

"It's going to be okay," she says, slowly. Subconsciously she strokes her thumb over his knee, _(just like the way Yua-nee would do to her-)_and tries to calm him down.

It isn't in her nature to comfort people, but from what she gathered of the situation a panic attack is the last thing she needs right now _(whether that be hers or Denki's). _

"Okay?"

He nods. "Okay."

And though he did still seem awfully stressed, he wasn't rambling like Deku anymore so she would take that as a win.

Mari stands up and surveys the rocky landscape around them. "Momo and Jirou, are they far from here?" she asks.

Denki shakes his head. "No, not really. I, I don't think so, at least."

She frowns when she sees that her gun has _not _been warped with her. Annoying, but she's gone into plenty of battles with a lot fewer resources at her disposal.

She got a few good shots in on the handyman before Aizawa cucked her, so she should have the advantage.

"Good," she nods to Denki. "You go help the girls. You can handle that, right?"

At her question the blonde puffs out his chest, and his Denki patented bravado seems to shine through once more. "Who do you think you're talking to?" he asks with a smug grin.

His legs are still shaking, but Mari ignores that for his sake.

"An idiot," she replies with.

He ignores her comment. "What are you going to do?"

"Specifically? Finish the fight I started. In general? Be as big of a nuisance as I can be."

Denki nods. "Stay safe, Mari-chan."

She can't quite manage to say the phrase _'you too' _back at him. "When in doubt, just do what I'd do," she settles for instead.

"I'm not going to shoot anyone, Mari."

She lets out a bitter-sweet laugh.

_"Coward." _

_. _

_. _

_. _

Mari manages to make it back to where she started without much fanfare. She ducked and weaved out of the eyesight of the petty villains crawling all over USJ, most of them too preoccupied with her classmates to stop her.

They're putting up a better fight than expected, and it gives Mari the opportunity to slip away.

She makes it to the plaza and finds Aizawa and the hand-villain in the middle of a showdown.

And though the dried up flaky villain _cannot _be all that much any older than her, he still seems to be kicking her teacher's ass _with ease. _

It was pretty funny to watch, up until the point that he grabs one of Aizawa's scarves and in a matter of seconds it is reduced to dust.

Mari wouldn't have believed it possible to have a quirk that destructive if she didn't see it with her own eyes.

"And I thought I had it bad," she murmurs from the sidelines. "That's so _metal." _

The exchange of blows continues for a few moments, Mari watching with a morbid sort of fascination as her sensei gets his ass _beaten the fuck down. _

Well, maybe she's being dramatic, but her teacher undoubtedly has the disadvantage here. Not to mention, he's too _soft _about it. Even from her perspective as a bystander she can tell Aizawa is going easy on him. He's trying to knock him out, not kill him.

And that's what gets him.

Aizawa makes a mistake and the handyman grabs his arm, five fingers slowly closing around it.

Mari has seen enough of his quirk to know what happens next.

If someone didn't step in _now _her teacher would be reduced to nothing but a large dust bunny.

Mari contemplates saving her apathetic teacher, but in the end, she isn't given much choice as her legs move before her brain does.

Mari has always been someone to _do _rather than _think _which usually bites her in the ass.

She moves to save him, running purely on instinct. A hero's instinct, some may say, but then they'd have to call her a hero first.

And before her brain can tell her to _run the fuck away _she's already at Aizawa's side, football tackling the Handyman to the ground.

The silver-haired man is a little more than a _stick _, thin enough that even a 15-year-old girl can pin him to the ground.

She doesn't look back to see the expression on Aizawa's face when she 'heroically' saves him, but she does hear the noise of confusion he makes before he begins shouting.

"What the h-hell are y-you doing here, Yoshizawa?!"

He has the Midoriya patented _stutter _but judging by the way he holds his ribs it seems to be from pain rather than timidness.

She ignores him for the most part and rather focuses on the villain beneath her, pinning his wrists to the floor and watching his fingers like a hawk.

He doesn't seem all that angry, merely surprised as recognition fills his eyes. "The glitch…" he murmurs to himself, almost incredulously.

That recognition is quickly turned to rage. "Where the hell did you come from, glitch?!" He begins thrashing about, like a rabid dog kept to a leash.

_Glitch _is certainly a nickname she hasn't had before this, but she doesn't understand what she had done to gain it.

Despite this, she keeps her cool and channels her inner Todoroki. She attempts a shrug, but it doesn't quite have the same effect when she can't move her hands.

"Someplace, somewhere," she answers aloofly, very much not in the mood for the theatrics of petty villains. This only seems to piss him off more.

He trashes some more and with a well-timed kick to the chest, Mari is flung off him, tumbling and landing next to her teacher.

This doesn't hinder her spirit as she's back on her feet moments after that, assuming a fighting position. Aizawa, next to her, is still shouting, ordering her to flee the area.

She snickers at him. "I've never listened to you before, sensei, why would I start now? Especially when you _clearly _need assistance?"

_"Yoshizawa, you brat!" _He shouts indignantly. Honestly, she's not sure which of the two adults here are angrier at her at this moment.

Aizawa continues, _"The _**_one _**_time you choose to be a hero is when you should stand down!" _

He doesn't get to yell at her much after that, as this is when the Handyman slowly goes to his feet, swaying slightly. Mari can see the red patches from where her bullets hit and she smirks.

"Unfair," the villain mutters. "Unfair, unfair, unfair! I was meant to kill ALL MIGHT! AND HE'S NOT EVEN HERE! _UNFAIR, UNFAIR, UNFAIR!" _he shouts, voice rising like a toddler on the brink of a tantrum.

He narrows his eyes at her. "You," he says. _"The glitch. _You're making this unfair." He holds one of the bullet wounds on his ribs. "No UA student should have a _gun. _It's cheating!" he declares.

Mari huffs at him. "And like having a _disintegrating _quirk isn't!" she says, pointing an accusing finger at him. "I'm just levelling the playing field!"

Distantly, she can hear Aizawa telling her to _shut up, _and maybe _not antagonise the murderous villain in front of them _but she ignores him, as she often does.

In fact, this might be their best chance of making it out alive.

"And maybe," she starts again, staring the Handyman down. "You haven't _earned _the right to kill All Might!"

She's onto something here, she thinks, judging, by the way, his shoulder's tense at this. "Yeah! What makes you think that _you _, a crusty dusty **_piss-poor _****excuse for a villain** that was just brought to his knees by a UA student, gets to kill All Might, huh?"

The Handyman is very clearly out of her _league, _and could easily kill her with just one hand, but that's never stopped Mari or her arrogance before.

_"What?" _

The villain seems taken back at this, and though it's hard to see his expressions with the hand attached to his face, Mari knows she's taken him off guard.

"You heard me! I've shot you _three times _and you haven't even killed me yet! What a terrible villain you are! This kind of weak antagonism is what I'd expect from _Bakugou, _but from you guys, it's just pathetic!"

She's stalling for time. She knows it, Aizawa knows it (judging by the way he's still shouting at her), even the Handyman likely knows it. But it's all that she can do.

She can't make eye contact with the villain with that creepy hand covering his eyes, therefore making her quirk _useless, _her gun is **_god _**knows where and Aizawa can barely stand. So bluffing and shit-stirring is all she has left.

Lucky for her, she's pretty good at it.

All she needs to do is hold out until All Might gets here. She heard her classmates mentioning him on the way to the plaza, and there's no way he _wouldn't _come, right?

Maybe she's placing too much faith in a _hero, _but Mari thinks it's not that horrible to have hope every now and then.

And as to why she's doing this?

Why the selfish and arrogant Mari Yoshizawa was bothering to put herself in danger for the sake of her teacher?

Well, that question is easy.

It's because it's what a hero would do.

And though Mari calls herself a 'hero' very, _very _tentatively, that doesn't mean she won't be there when she's needed.

She's played the part of the villain before, and knowing all this she thinks it feels better to save the day, rather than ruin it, sometimes.

And if she got to fuck with Aizawa-sensei and got called a hero for being an _absolute ass _to an angsty villain wannabe in the process, then that wouldn't be so bad.

"In fact," she says, grinning at the handyman. "I think the one who gets to kill All Might, **_should be me!"_**

And perhaps, in retrospect, this was going a little _too far _as the first thing the Handyman does in retaliation to this is launch at her with the intent _to kill. _

Mari tries to dodge, tries evade his grab -

But she's not fast enough.

The handyman has her pinned down, an ironic and _terrifying _twist of fate from her attack on him. She's pinned, and her wild thrashing does nothing to stop him.

She sees Aizawa move in the corner of her eye, but he's quickly intercepted by what can only be described as _a freak of nature. _

A _Nomu, _Handyman calls it, laughing from on top of her.

A large bird with his brains exposed in all it's gory glory that looks like it's _on steroids. _

Mari doesn't get the chance to marvel at the monstrosity for long. As soon as Aizawa is distracted Handyman's attention is back on her.

Shit gets pretty fucked pretty quickly from then on.

Handyman is above her, and she sees his fingers ghost over her face in what she thinks to be her final moments.

_One finger, _

She thinks of her family, of her mediocre parents that she'll probably miss -

_Two fingers, _

She thinks of Yua-nee, wonders where she is and who she's with -

_Three fingers, _

She thinks of all things she hasn't done, the hero she'll never become -

_Four fingers, _

She thinks of her classmates. Of the annoying Bakugou and spinless Deku, of the stupid Denki and listless Shinso, or the weird Todoroki and the ways they have taught her to be better, or stronger, or-

_Five fingers - _

Moments before the story of Mari Yoshizawa is finished does a _real _hero appear.

This is the second time Midoriya has saved her, she thinks, as she watches him land a punch straight into Handyman's jaw.

She shouldn't be laughing, she thinks, as that would be awfully inappropriate to do after being milliseconds away from death, but she can't help the incredulous laughter bubbling up in the back of her throat.

"Yoshizawa-san!" Midoriya is turned to her, green eyes blazing with a passion she's never seen from him before - "Are you okay?"

All she can do is laugh at him.

.

.

.

All Might appears moments after that and the rest of USJ happens in a blur. All Might is quickly joined by the rest of the UA faculty and Mari spends that time on the sidelines with Aizawa, sloppily dressing his wounds like Recovery Girl would to her.

Using the bandages stored in one of the compartments of her belt, she gets to work, tackling the biggest wounds while the teachers handle the rest.

Aizawa groans weakly in protest as she applies pressure to one of the larger wounds. Judging by the way his eyelids were repeatedly fluttering closed before opening again, she guessed that he was struggling to stay conscious.

"Yoshizawa.." he begins, his voice concerningly more coarse than usual. "What were you thinking?" he says before pausing and moving his head to the side to hack out some blood. Which, **_ew, gross_**, but at least he had the courtesy not to get it on her hero costume.

"It's what a hero would have done." She tells him proudly (or perhaps that was arrogance rather than pride in her voice).

"It was stupid."

Mari laughs at him. "Most heroes are."

Aizawa opens his mouth to protest but she sharply presses down on his wounds and cuts him off. "All you need to say is thank you."

He doesn't say that, though. Instead, he looks up at her, his soulless black pupils gauging her for all her worth, and he asks, "Why?"

A favourite question of his.

"Like I said, it's what heroes do."

And when Aizawa continues to scrutinise her wearily she sighs and rolls her eyes. "I also wouldn't be able to stand it if you died and Present Mic took over our Hero Classes, too. He's too loud. Obnoxious."

And at this Aizawa smiles, if only slightly. "Hypocritical brat." is all he says.

Mari tends to his wounds until a teacher takes over for her.

.

.

.

She feels like _years _have passed since the bus ride this morning.

After the heroes make quick work of the rest of the villains, class 1-A stands outside USJ, policemen and ambulances surrounding them, waiting to see what happens next.

She's with Denki again, as one of the girls he was with - _Jirou, she believes - _pawned him off to her, saying he'd lost a lot of blood and overused his quirk.

Currently, he was staring at her in a daze, having not said anything at all at her yet, while giving her a wonky thumbs up.

She hails over an EMT and they do a few preliminary checks on him.

"What's wrong with him?" the EMT asks as he checks Denki's pulse.

"A lot of things," Mari replies. "But that's beside the point. I'm told he's lost a lot of blood and might've fried himself a bit with his quirk."

The EMT doesn't laugh, but he lets an amused sort of puff of air through his nose. He shines a light into Denki's eyes. "Is he usually this pale?"

Mari shrugs. "He's Japanese, and therefore perpetually pasty like the rest of us."

The EMT nods and steps back from Denki, seemingly satisfied with his assessment. "Right. He should be fine, he just needs a blood transfusion."

Mari nods and shakes the blonde to get his attention. "Hey, Denki."

His gold eyes squint before settling on her. He was responding to her voice now, at least. That was good progress. "Denki, they're doing a blood transfusion. What's your type?"

Denki furrows his eyebrows and seems to think for a few moments. "My type? Ahh, pink hair with a slim waist I guess? Also, preferably with a _huge _rack-"

"Your _blood _type, Denki."

"Oh." He says. Mari sighs deeply. Denki continues, "Red, in that case."

Mari turns to the EMT with a deadpan. "Let him bleed out."

And this time the EMT does laugh, but he covers it with a well-timed cough. "Well, we can handle it from here. You can run along with the rest of your classmates."

"Actually," Mari begins, quietly. "I was hoping to stay here with him, for a little bit."

.

.

.

"Mari-chan."

_"Mari-chaaaaaaaan." _

Mari sighs quietly and turns the page in the book she's reading. "What's it this time, Denki?"

The blonde had made a quick recovery after being attached to a blood drip, and was now far more talkative than he was before. Oh, how dearly Mari misses half-comatosed Denki. He didn't interrupt her reading every five seconds just for the sake of getting her attention.

"I'm thirsty," he mutters. "I want a soda."

"I hardly see how that's my problem."

"Mari-chaaan!" he whines, grabbing her hero costume. "I looked after you earlier, now you gotta do the same to me!"

Mari shakes her head. "I suppose you want me to be your nurse then, hm?"

It's a sarcastic question but Denki seems to consider this regardless. After a moment of contemplation, he replies, "That sounds pretty _hot _actually-"

"Oh my god," Mari cuts him off, slamming her book shut. "I'll get your damn soda just _shut up." _

Denki looks quite pleased at himself at her words. "Cranberry, please," he says with a smug grin.

With a sigh Mari drags her feet to the vending machine she saw near the entrance on the way to USJ. There are fewer cops than there were before and all the students are still here, most of them still giving their statements.

Mari hadn't done so yet, instead using the excuse of "looking after Denki" to weasel out of it. She didn't have the _best _relationship with cops or most law enforcement so her general rule of thumb was to avoid them at all costs.

She rubs her wrists as she approaches the vending machine, slotting in her coins while examining the bruises left on her by Handyman.

She's so focused on the bruises that she doesn't hear the _click _of her soda being dispensed, nor does she notice the footsteps behind her as a cloth is placed on her mouth.

She flails for a few moments but the person holding her is too strong for her resistance.

She kicks into the air futility before she feels her consciousness slip away from her.

The cranberry soda remains in the metal tray, untouched.

* * *

**_Extras (1) _ **

Kaminari Denki frowns at his phone.

He'd sent Mari to get him his cranberry soda in what must have easily been over an hour ago. And sure, he expected her to dawdle and drag her feet (if only to spite him) but he didn't think she'd take this long.

He looks again at the unopened messages on his phone and frowns again.

**hot man denki **(4:57pm)

_ how long does it take to get a cranberry soda smh _

**hot man denki **(4:59pm)

_ are you taking longer jsut to piss me off _

**hot man denki **(5:15pm)

_ look im sorry bout the sodsa, just come back here _

**hot man denki **(5:20pm)

_ ahh im so lonely _

**hot man denki **(5:20pm)

_ so lonely and so thristy _

**hot man denki **(5:21pm)

_ if only i had a cranberry soda and cranberry girl to sit with :( _

**_[hot man denki _**(5:30pm)

_ ok mari the teachers are doing a headcount you better get here soon _

**hot man denki ** (5:35pm)

_ where the hell r u mari? did ur parents pick u up already? _

**hot man denki **(5:42pm)

_ vlad king looks pissed af anf he's got a really gross vein on his head rn. ur the only kid not here now, what r u doing? _

**hot man denki **(5:50pm)

_ Mari, I'm really worried, are you okay? _

Just when he prepares to turn his phone off does Denki receive a notification. His heart jumps in his chest when he sees who it's from.

**You have (1) one new message from [Mari Yoshizawa]**

**Mari Yoshizawa **(5:52pm)

_ im ok _

She types for a few moments before her next message comes in.

**Mari Yoshizawa** (5:53pm)

_ I'm with family. _

** [Mari Yoshizawa] ** ** is now offline**

**.**

**.**

**.**

* * *

whooo! alright! a whopping 4.6K chapter as a thank you to all the lovely, lovely, reviews from last chapter. but no one wants to hear me get sappy so let's just jump right into these author notes! (they're gonna be a doozy today)

(1) y'all know I'm a **_whore_** for flashbacks so you know I had to sneak in a little scene with Mari at the start of this chapter. But anywho! Our girl Yua Yoshizawa has now been introduced! Mari's older sister by four years! Yua's a cool gal, but she's kind of been MIA for the last three years!

But aight! A few notes on Yua-nee!

Yua's name means "**binding love and affection"** which relates to her quirk. Mari and Yua both inherited their mother's quirk of possession but use it in different ways and Yua's name directly refers to that. You should be able to see it in action in the next few chapters if I follow my chapter outlines for once lmfao

and yes! i understand what some of you may be thinking! **_"who tf is this yua bitch and why has she never been mentioned before?"_** and I have answers for you curious little sheep!

yua is mari's sister, and she's hardly ever mentioned in the narration on purpose. ever since her sister went missing Mari tries to never think about her and block out any thoughts of her, and the narration reflects this! while she never claims to be an only child, she still never really talks about being a younger sister either. but of course! it's not that easy to forget people!

mari has her moments where she does think about her (i.e. her sister is briefly mentioned last chapter on the bus to USJ) and sometimes she does it subconsciously (like in her dream at the start of this chapter!)

but yes! yua is the one to blame for mari's wild hair! they both were born with the typical Japanese black hair but Yua used to dye both hers and Mari's when they were younger!

(2) mari passes out so many times in this fic it is a _joke_. but yes, because mari was mid-air during the warp (thanks to her being restrained by aizawa) she hits her head when she warps to the mountain zone and is knocked out. i was going to have her join deku and tsu in the water zone to fill mineta's place, but mineta wasn't all that pivotal in that scene and let's face it,,,, I'm a **massive** simp kaminari, as he is to mari. an endless cycle of simping that i enable.

(3) OK SO! KAMINARI DENKI! I was debating on how he'd react to the villains, and just having him react like he did in the anime & manga but that seemed kind of shallow. kaminari is an insecure teenage boy who just wants others to like him _(same tho;;;)_ and i figured he'd be the kind of person to freak out in a situation like this, and i thought the idea of mari calming him down would b cute. and thought it's a bit OOC for mari, i imagine thinking of her sister made her more sentimental for this chapter.

but yes, my timeline is, denki, jirou and momo arrive in the mountains with mari - mari is passed out and there are villains everywhere, denki freaks out, momo and jirou tell him to calm tf down and just watch mari, after which mari wakes up and tells him to fight with them anyway.

(4) a lot of the aizawa scenes were actually written when i first started this fic. USJ has been in my mind for months now ngl. but tbh I'm kind of glad its over. cause y'all,,,, i got major plans for the internship arc and hero killer stain **(**_**so fuckin pumped for that, y'all gonna love it)**_ and a few ideas for the festival, too.

but anywho! if some scenes seem disjointed, that's probably why!

also, do not ask me **_why _**but a small part of my brain desperately needed to write shigaraki being tackled to the ground by the small angry pink furball. hence that scene.

(5) rip mari's gun. she had it for about a week before losing it smh. this is why can't have nice things.

(6) mari is such a shit-stirrer i _cannot. _like, i wrote this shit and I'm still reeling. mari, who tf responds to a villain like "lmfao bet i could be a better villain than you" also, mari,,, homegirl,,, you cannot say you want to kill all might smh. even when i wrote that i was like, "is mari crossing a line here?" but then i figured she's crossed so many before this, what's the difference of one more

(7) the kaminari "type" conversation was inspired by this meme i saw years ago, that i cannot for the life of me remember where it is from, but it's such a denki thing to say ngl

also kaminari has a nurse kink pass it on

(8) You know what I just realised? When I first started the fic I was like, "ah i hope i'm not making, like, this really overpowered mary sue character for mari" but now that i think about it, the sheer amount of times mari gets her ass beaten the fuck down in this fic is wild.

like, let's actually go over this. she scores high at UA, sure, but she also is annihilated by a zero pointer and is KO'd in one shot and passes out. and then, during the quirk assessment test, she just shouts about being a hero and then scores **_last_**out of the entire class. and then! during the next chapter she has a team match up against denki and jirou and lasts _seven_ minutes before passing out (again).

and then, usj happens, mari shoots the bad guy and passes out as soon as she's warped. she then goes to find shigaraki, knocks him over, makes an ass of herself and then is literally moments away from death before midoriya saves her.

and then! after usj! the first thing she does is get kidnapped!

and she's used her quirk **_*once*_** since UA, and that was to beat up two school children.

oh mari;;; useless, useless mari who wont stop passing out;;

(9) i have exciting news y'all! a very kind and talented reader of this story made some fanart for mari! (i legit cried when i saw this, no one has ever made fanart for me that i didn't know-) and honestly, it made my entire week! I've been writing since i was 12 and i never thought i'd reach a day where someone would want to draw my character!

i love you guys, honestly. thank you so much to every single reader of this story.

but enough with this sappy stuff! you can find the art at **i_cant_meowing_draw** on Instagram or on Tumblr at **bani-itch**

she drew the car smashing scene, the todoroki laughing scene and an outfit for mari that i adore and think should wear the _heck _out of

Links will be in my profile if you guys want to see them!

they are also included in the latest chapter of the ao3 version of this story!

THANK YOU ALL FOR READING!


	15. INTERLUDE II: MIDORIYA IZUKU

OK! ALRIGHT! welcome back! I just wanted to say something before I jump into the chapter today, so allow me to be a little _unconventional_ my author notes here if you will (heh)

as some of you might have noticed, I'm a total boomer on this site. i adore ffnet and the beautiful works on it, but some days i feel like i'm over my head with the site mechanics.

but that's beside the point! the main thing i was worried about is not being able to reply to all the lovely reviews you guys leave without PMing you directly. so i decided to kick off all updates by going through all the reviews posted since the last update!

I'll be doing this now with all the reviews I've gotten to this point, so if you're not interested in reading them, just scroll down to the next page break! :D

**BeObscureClearly**, chapter 6: I'm glad you like the fic!

**gogominjo**, chapter 7: Thank you! Bakugou is an adorable character, so it can't be helped! (even if he would deny it lmao)

**bbymojo**, chapters 1-7: Thanks for all the super nice reviews! I'm glad you like Mari and all her interactions with the boys! The Izuku interlude is finally here! I hope you enjoy! And! I hope the Shinso scene lived up to your expectations!

**loop2,** chapter 10: thank you for pointing this out! It was a typo that has been corrected now! I need to stop writing chapters after 12am lmao

**gryffindorandcats, **chapter 10: ahhhh! That warms my heart so much to hear! Thank you!

**Anonymous "Fangirl",** chapter 10: Yes, poor Shinso. I love writing interactions between him and Mari because he's like the perfect comedic straight man for her bizarre personality. Thanks for the kind review!

**Nameless Angel 00, **chapter 12: Sassy Hitoshi is best Hitoshi, ngl

**ErisFootWorshipper,** chapter 12: lmfao. I couldn't write a delinquent OC and have them _not _destroy All Might's car. It'd be, like, a crime against humanity.

**Hurricane.'97**, chapter 13: Ahh i know I already thanked you in my PMs, but while I'm here let me just say again, THANK YOU FOR THE WONDERFUL ART YOU MADE OF MARI! It made me so happy!

**Freaky Shannon-igans, **chapter 13: THANK YOU! That makes me seriously happy to hear!

**Raise a glass to freedom, **chapter 7: AMEN! PREACH! KAMINARI DENKI IS BEST BOY, INDEED.

**Aqua Salmon**, chapter 13: I love everything about this review. Few words, yet they convey such deep emotion. I was _wheezing _reading this. When I die, _please _put the words "_**Thicc chunky Gucci read bro" **_on my grave and I will ascend to the heavens amen

**Ectomotive,** chapter 9: YES! I love Murakami! I have so many of his books on my shelf, it's lowkey an addiction at this point- After Dark is *chef kisses* a great work of his. And ah! I get what you mean! It's hard to find some of his less known books sometimes!

If it helps I go on the website "**book depository" **for most of his books! They've got free international shipping and that deeply appeals to my inner cheapskate lmao

OH HONEY YES! The tea is _piping _and it is (mostly) typed up on my google docs waiting to be spilt lmao. I'm glad you like Mari, too! And honestly that Bakugou analogy is so fitting ngl

**Aqua Salmon**, chapters 8, 11, 13: I love all these reviews. So fuckin funny. Thanks for taking the time to write them!

**Loop2,** chapter 14: ah! Yes! All very good questions and I apologise for any confusion! Her quirk has nothing to do with how much she passes out! If I'm being honest, most of the time it's just bad luck. And I mentioned why she's unconscious at USJ briefly in the author notes of the last chapter, but those were long as hell so I don't blame you if you missed it!

Technically, she didn't faint after the warp because of her quirk or strength. It was actually because of bad timing. During the warp she is mid-air, being restrained by Aizawa, unlike everyone else who is standing. As a result, she is still mid-air when the warp occurs, and because she is in the Mountains Area, she hits her head on some rocks after the warp and during her fall. She goes unconscious because of this, and Kaminari later wakes her up.

I hope that clears up some things!

**Aqua Salmon,** chapter 14: i told y'all she pops off! AND THANK YOU FOR THE KIND WORDS! I'M SUPER-DUPER GLAD YOU ENJOYED THE CHAPTER!

**Nicoccia,** chapter 14: aw, dude, you're gonna make me blush. I'm really glad you like the story! And yes, that's what I thought while watching MHA and why this fic was created. I know it's touched upon in the latest chapters but I feel like at the start of MHA there's a lot of things that are just too "clean cut"? Especially regarding heroes and villains and morality.

That's why I created Mari, to serve as something that is confusing, and directly subverts the hero troupes seen in MHA!

Thank you for your lovely review!

**Littlecosma001**, chapter 14: bro, you're too good to me. I'm glad you like it!

**Kaira2004**, chapter 14: Thank you! That makes me so happy to hear! I hope you have a nice day, too!

Thank you for all your support, everyone!

* * *

aight y'all, the deku interlude that i was meant to post about five chapters ago lmao. i figured this would be a good place to put it, as the previous USJ arc is coming to a close.

a short lil bit of writing about deku's emotions to get you warmed up for the next chapter, which should be out by the end of this month (you guys can totally yell at me if it isn't)!

hope you enjoy!

* * *

MIDORIYA IZUKU WANTS TO BE ACKNOWLEDGED

* * *

The first thing people noticed about Mari Yoshizawa was her hair.

A bright, _obnoxious _shade of hot pink that clashed horribly with her cynical disposition.

The second thing people noticed was her rotten-to-the-core and cruel personality, and this realization usually took place anywhere after the first thirty seconds after Mari Yoshizawa speaks to you. If she bothers to do so.

The first thing _Modoriya Izuku _noticed about Mari Yoshizawa was not her hair.

And despite it being a plain, inconspicuous _black _at the time, he thinks even if it was the bright pink she was known for (the pink it feels strange to imagine her without-) it still would have been her eyes he noticed first.

Mari Yoshizawa's eyes are nothing special. A plain, dark black to match her plain, dark hair.

At a first glance, she's regular. Ordinary. _Conventional. _

But if you spare a moment to look a little deeper, it becomes abundantly clear that couldn't be any further from the truth.

Maybe he's just a romantic, but there's something about the way Mari Yoshizawa's gaze holds you that makes it _impossible _for Izuku to notice anything else.

It suited her, he thinks. The way her cold stares sucks you in, demanding your attention. Her gaze says to him _I'm here. _

And not in an "It's alright now. Why? Because _I'm here!" _kind of way. But instead, something far more sinister and captivating.

Mari Yoshizawa's gaze looks into his soul and says _"I'm here." _

_"I'm here, and I want you to focus on nothing but me." _

.

.

.

Mari Yoshizawa has always been around, Izuku thinks, and though he's always been aware of her, it is not until she caught the interest of _Kacchan _in middle school that he spoke to her.

Izuku admired from afar, with the kind of analytical curiosity that he had when watching heroes. Mari Yoshizawa was far from one of them, but equally as fascinating to watch.

She only continued to grow more fascinating when he sees her speaking to Kacchan, near the end of the school year.

Kacchan had told him to _fuck off _and not follow him home that day, and that's what Izuku had _planned _to do. He certainly didn't _plan_ to see him talking to _Mari Yoshizawa _of all people in the behind the school building when he returned to Aldera to get a notebook he left on his desk.

They're in the courtyard, the very same one where Mari Yoshizawa would call out to him in, almost a year later.

Kacchan is speaking to her, but it's different to how Izuku's seen him speak before.

His voice is hushed, for starters, too quiet for Izuku to hear from his distance (where he wasn't _eavesdropping, _merely standing in a convenient spot at the right time to watch what was happening). His expression is soft, too, softer than he's ever seen _or thought capable of _from the perpetually raging Bakugou Katsuki.

He finishes his sentence and he's staring at Mari Yoshizawa so tenderly, with so much _vulnerability, _that Izuku feels as if he's seen something no one should ever be allowed to witness aside from the two in front of him.

Mari Yoshizawa's swishing tail stops and she says something back to him, something Izuku can't hear over the wind, and perhaps it is something he doesn't _want _to hear, judging by the way he watches Kacchan's face morph into an expression of _utter devastation _after she says this.

Izuku turns away at that moment, and he feels as if he has crossed a line that should never be crossed that day by witnessing what had just happened, even if he has no context to it.

.

.

.

Katsuki didn't come to school the next day.

Mari Yoshizawa _did, _but she looked as unaffected by it as she does everything in life.

It's _weird. _

Izuku still feels bad for listening in on them, but he _wants to know. _

He wants to know, _so badly, _what happened between Mari Yoshizawa and Bakugou Katsuki.

But above all that, he wants her to look at him.

He wants her to meet with him after school,

He wants her to have secret conversations with him when they think no one is watching,

He wants whatever it is she seems to have with his childhood best friend and rival.

Midoriya Izuku wants to drown in the cold, black, all-consuming gaze of Mari Yoshizawa.

He wants to lose himself within her, unravel her many mysteries, and know everything there is to know.

He wants _her. _

.

.

.

The first thing Mari Yoshizawa says to Midoriya Izuku is not something pleasant.

It's an _accusation, _phrased as a question, cold and to the point.

"Why are you staring at me?" she asks him one day, dark onyx eyes finally, _finally, _landing on him.

Izuku probably would have begun stuttering then, if only he could will his lips to move at that moment.

He _has _been staring at her, ever since their first class together after whatever-it-was that he saw the day before.

Her gaze sharpens, daring him to defy her, or refute her words. "Did you not get a good enough look yesterday afternoon?"

And there it is, the sound of glass breaking somewhere in the back of Izuku's mind.

He might've felt embarrassed for being caught red-handed if he could produce any semblance of thought.

Mari Yoshizawa scoffs and walks away from him.

And though he _should _feel guilty, feel _ashamed, _Midoirya Izuku can't help the swell of happiness in his chest at the thought of being acknowledged by her.

.

.

.

Izuku is a dreamer, and though their first _"conversation" _together is a far cry from what he expected, he couldn't help but hope that this was the start of his life and Mari Yoshizawa's life colliding.

She had spoken to him, _acknowledged his existence. _

That was the first step.

Izuku is practically _vibrating _at his desk as he watches the class door, waiting for Mari Yoshizawa to enter.

She doesn't.

She's away that day.

And the day after that, and the day after that one, too.

Mari Yoshizawa disappears off the face of the Earth for three months.

_And then the rumours begin. _

.

.

.

**"Did you hear?"** the halls of Aldera whisper. _**"**_**_Mari Yoshizawa killed someone!"_**

* * *

alright! hope y'all enjoyed this! im gonna be honest, this interlude wasn't what was meant to posted **_at all_** today. i had a completely different interlude about deku that i made ages ago when i made the bakugou one, and i was like "ah, let me just add a little more to the start of it" and that resulted in this, with all of the other interlude not being included at all. oh well!

but while we're on the topic, are there any POVs or interludes you like to see from any other characters? (denki is next on my hit list right now) or anything you'd like to see in the story, in particular? I've got **_heaps_** of plans for this fic (like, seriously, i got a 30 smth page document of incoherent screaming about this story on google docs) but i'd love to hear from you guys first!

or example, if you have any characters you'd like in the story let me know and I'll see what i can do! i was honest to god considering adding another love interest the other day, purely because this character was one of my favs, but i decided to hold back lmao

(the monoma and mari ship will not set sail today, if only because i can imagine how chaotic they'd be together. rip.)

i also got a pm about the story, and i figured i'd share my answer here for anyone who might have the same question. i was asked if mari, genuinely, ever gets better in this story and has a happy ending. and though i honestly haven't put much thought to how long this story will be, mari will definitely come out of it a better person.

just a heads up, though, she's gonna get *pretty fucking bad* during the internship / hero killer arc before she starts to get better again, so make what you will of that ominous warning to y'all

(I'm so fuckin excited to write that part, y'all don't even know sksksk

i just gotta stick to my outlines for once lmao)

and that's about it! thank you all so, so much for your support on this story! i hope you all have a wonderful, anime-boy filled day! amen!


	16. MARI YOSHIZAWA WANTS YOUR PRAISE

Hi y'all! Thanks for all the support in the last chapter, all the reviews were so sweet! Like the last update, I'll take a moment to reply to all the reviews now, so just scroll down to the first page break to get right to the new chapter!

**Aqua Salmon**, chapter 15: lmfao ikr. Everyone in Aldera is such a fucking snitch smh. Back in my day your classmates would never do you so dirty

**Kami-Kani**, chapter 15: omg this is so nice! I'm super, duper happy to hear you like the story. And oml the line "juuust the right amount of crackhead to put a dent in my crippling depression." is perfect, I love it. OH YES. Someone on ao3 suggested an Aizawa interlude, too, and I'm ALL FOR IT. I have a perfect little idea for an interlude for him after the Sports festival and before Internships. That period of time in the book is just not gonna be fun for Aizawa, so I can't wait to write it lmao.

And YES! Shiggy is 1000% on my interlude list! I think I might slot in one with him after the Hero Killer Stain arc heh!

Thank you for the suggestions and kind words!

**Hurricane.97'**, chapter 15: lmfao it's OK! I honestly feel like I forget to write about her tail most days lol

**kaira2004**, chapter 15: oh, please, thank _you _for reading! I'm glad you like it! AND YES YES I've decided! Shiggy is defo getting an interlude (I love Daddy Dry lips too lmfao don't worry).

YES! Fellow boomer! I'm so glad! And omg I'm the same with tumblr! I literally only started, like, actually using it this year and _though I do sincerely love that site _there are so many things that I still don't understand lol

**Anonymous "anonymouse"**, chapter 15: "allow me to sksksksk with you" is one of the greatest opening lines to a review I've ever read lmfao. I'm really glad you like the story!

And honestly, I'm obviously no writing expert (and very, very, _very _far from it lmfao) I genuinely think the best way to improve your writing is to write as often as you can, and read as many books as you can. I feel like my writing improved a lot more once I started to read more stories (both fanfic and IRL published books) and learning from the writing styles of those authors!

AND AH YES! This is a good question! We got a lot of fine fellas lined up for Mari, so who _is _end game? And honestly? I haven't decided yet lmfao. At this point in time, I think what'll most likely end up happening is multiple endings being published, each one with Mari ending up with a different boy. I wrote an Assassination Classroom fic ages ago and I did endings like that which seemed to satisfy most readers, so I'm leaning towards that.

HOWEVER! I am always open to hearing suggestions from you guys! If you have any ideas on how you'd like the romance to be handled I'd love to hear it!

**musiome**, chapter 15: I'M SO HAPPY TO HEAR THAT! I'm glad you like the fic! :'D

**Silverfox579,** chapter 15: omg… i think im blushing. That means so much to me, I'm so happy you like it!

**Ectomotive**, chapter 15: OOF I LOVE LONG REVIEWS SO MUCH IM GONNA NUT - _lets just jump into this_

Yes! I use Book Depository for almost all the books I buy! It's honestly been a lifesaver since all the second-hand bookstores I go to are closed because of quarantine now lmao.

I'm glad you like the tea ! And ahahaha! I would say that's a pretty accurate guess heh!

Yeah, I'm with you there. Detective Ishikawa really did her dirty. To be honest though, the whole way Mari's case was handled was pretty corrupt and rife with personal bias. And though I wouldn't put it past Mari to assault someone for no reason, she did _indeed _have a motive. It's debatable whether or not it was particularly "noble" though.

YES YES YES ! This is _exactly _what I was thinking when I started the story!

Ah! Those are both _excellent _ideas! I've mentioned it above and on ao3, but the Aizawa interlude is now _a must. _And I'll likely do one for Shinso, too. Even when I was writing chapter ten I had so much fun writing for his POV, so he's definitely on my list too.

Tbh Monoma/Mari is something I think about far too much. I legit love that arrogant blonde bastard so much (even as I type this I guiltily keep looking at my large Monoma computer background lmfao) and though I'm not sure he'll become a love interest, you might see him around quite a bit in future chapters.

I was actually toying around with the idea of doing a couple AUs for this fic when someone on ao3 suggested a gang AU, and since planning that Monoma has quickly become the main love interest in that - so honestly, I'll probably just use that as my Monoma loving outlet lmao

Thank you for the kind words!

**DowntownMusic101,** chapter 15: thank you! I'm glad you like it!

**The Dark that Surpasses Light,** chapter 15: Thank you for the kind review!

**Aqua Salmon,** chapter 15: omg _**this.**_ _This is so accurate wtf_

**Elvenrose22,** chapter 15: Thank you! New update coming in about *checks watch* RIGHT NOW heh!

**Aqua Salmon**, chapter 7: oooh i'm glad you noticed! I like the idea of fucking around with the chapter names and you might see more of that in the future hehe!

* * *

a mediocre transitional chapter between USJ, the USJ aftermath and the Sports Festival. Enjoy!

* * *

MARI YOSHIZAWA WANTS YOUR PRAISE

* * *

She hears someone humming.

A familiar, soft tune that reminds Mari Yoshizawa of her childhood.

Mari's eyes feel heavy, and her body has the lethargic kind of feeling that comes after a particularly long nap. Her body feels both relaxed and frigid, stiffening even more when she feels a soft touch on her forehead.

_A familiar touch, _she thinks, as slender fingers brush her bangs to the side.

Foolishly, Mari has to remind herself not to lean into this mysteriously familiar touch, and perhaps it's for the best that her body feels too sluggish to reach out for the hand and never let it go.

_How easy it would be, _Mari thinks, _to lose myself in this nostalgic tune and soft touch. _

A voice, paradoxically both familiar and unfamiliar, brings Mari out of her thoughts.

There's another hum, and the soft fingers above her head move.

**"Your bangs are uneven," **murmurs Mari Yoshizawa's captor.

Mari opens her eyes and is equally surprised and unsurprised at the face peering down at her.

Yua Yoshizawa, her elder sister of four years, a bubbly and charming girl who had been declared _missing _for the past three years, stands before her.

Mari feels as if she should be surprised, but Yua did always have a tendency to show up when you expected her the least, and usually by doing something flashy or just plain outrageous _(i.e. kidnapping your little sister) _\- a trait the Yoshizawa Sisters seemed to have in common.

And besides, the _too-familiar-to-be-anyone-but-Yua _soft touches and humming already gave her away.

Mari should be angry, she thinks. She should be up in arms, screaming at her, but she simply cannot bring herself too.

Instead of looking at her sister and wondering **_why did you leave me_** and **_where have you been _**she instead looks at her and thinks **_when did she change her hair to be blonde_**_, _and **_I wonder if she's watched any good Reality TV shows recently._**

It's foolish, but Mari thinks she rather doesn't care where Yua has been, or that she kidnapped her, apparently. There's a part of Mari that just wants to indulge in the confusing yet bittersweet moment, and marvel at the thought of having an _Oneesan _again.

"Perhaps," Mari says after a few moments, because it becomes clear by the way her sister's large dark eyes stare at her that she has not said anything for a while. She swallows and then adds, "But that's hardly a good reason to kidnap someone, is it?"

.. But times like this are fleeting, and though Mari desperately wants to pretend there is nothing wrong with what is happening here, there very clearly _is. _

Yua gives her a heartbreakingly familiar grin. "Depends on how bad the bangs are, ne?"

Mari narrows her eyes at her. She's still laying down, so the stare's effect is considerably weakened, when she says, "The _chloroform _was unnecessary."

Yua gives her a resigned smile that doesn't suit her face at all. "I wasn't sure you would have come with me willingly, anymore," she says.

"You're right," Mari quips in response. She sits up and continues to stare her down. "I wouldn't have."

Because the tension between them now runs far deeper than any petty squabble between sisters. This is something much harder to accept, something that can't be solved by Yua buying her a _McDonald's soft-serve _as she used to before.

Things are different now. Mari is no longer the forgiving and naive child she might've once been, nor is Yua the dotting sister she can always count on and _trust. _

Now that she's sat up Mari can see where it is her captor has brought her to, and she would have laughed if not for the absurdity of the situation.

They were in Yua's room.

Her _old _one, Mari supposes. The room that has not been inhabited for three years, and the room that her parents dare not to enter.

It should have been obvious from the tacky green star decals on the roof, or the plethora of dusty boyband posters on the wall. "You're a pretty bad kidnapper, Yua," Mari says. Pointedly, she leaves off her sisterly suffix.

The woman before her (because Yua was an adult now, she reminds herself) was not _Yua-nee _anymore, and Mari would not _(could not)_call her such anymore.

Undoubtedly, Yua picks up on this, but she does not comment. "You were always the better villain out of the two of us, Mari-tan," she says instead.

Mari does not say anything, rather too focused on the hammering of her heart on her chest. It's a throwaway comment, on Yua's part, a joke made in _poor-taste_ if anything, but it still hurts. It still hits a little _too _close to home, so she does not say anything in response.

If Yua notices that Mari has become a bit colder, then she doesn't say it. "Though you're a hero now, aren't you? I never thought I'd see the day my little sister would be a UA student."

When Mari does find her voice again, she speaks quieter this time, with more edge. "I guess that makes me better than you, then."

A low blow, considering how _desperately _Yua had tried to get into UA herself, but Mari feels as it she must say _something _in response to her sister's earlier words.

She expects Yua to lose her cool, cuss her out and tell her she doesn't deserve it, but she doesn't. Yua looks up to the stickered covered universe of her childhood bedroom roof and she laughs. "I guess you are, Mari-tan." There's no sarcasm or malice in her voice, and were Mari a bigger fool than she already was, she might even say that Yua sounded _wistful. _

Her sister looks at her, dark eyes drowning in both admiration and regret and she tells her, "You'd be a good hero, Mari-tan."

It occurs to Mari that that's the first time anyone has ever said that to her.

Suddenly, she's glad Yua's room is dark, so her sister would not be able to spot the tears Mari is desperately blinking away.

Yua brushes past the moment and sits down on the bed next to Mari with a thunk. The bed is old and weakened by years of pillow fights between the Yoshizawa sisters, so it creaks when she does so.

Yua says nothing for a few moments, and Mari doesn't dare open her mouth, as her voice would undoubtedly crack and give her away, were she to speak.

Yua leans over her and points to the bedside table, specifically to the open drawer. "I see you put the gun to good use, then," she murmurs.

_Indeed, _Mari had. She doesn't know_ how _Yua knew she'd go rummaging through her drawers once she left, but that_ pastel pink _gun with the sticky note saying "use it well" could obviously not be left for anyone but her.

"I lost it," Mari blurts after a few moments, not quite sure _why _she feels the need to confess this but does it anyway.

Yua gives her another wry grin. "I know you did, Mari-tan." Her gaze on her softens. "You always lose my stuff."

There's a pause, just long enough for the sentimental moment to become tense when Mari finds the courage to ask, "Why am I here, Yua?"

Yua laughs. "You live here, Mari-tan."

"Yes," Mari agrees, continuing. "But why did _you _bring me here?" she counters.

Yua lets out a pseudo-offended scoff. "What, a sister isn't allowed to pick up her sibling from a school excursion and bring her home?"

Mari was getting pretty tired of all this deflection. "Sure, but usually that sister hasn't been MIA for three years, and didn't knock out the sibling after said excursion."

"I kept in touch," Yua defends, weakly.

Mari gives her a thoroughly unimpressed look. "You left ominous notes around the house for me to find."

Mari hardly counts the occasional post-it note reading **_"remember to do your homework, mari-tan"_** as 'keeping in touch' - especially so when Mari's parents had to assume Yua was dead or might as well have been.

"Reminders and messages of my sisterly affection," Yua argues back.

"Yeah, well, I don't want to be finding reminders of your supposed _affection _in my BLTs when I'm eating lunch."

"You shouldn't have left your BLT unguarded."

"Unguarded!" Mari repeats, incredulous. "I turned around for _one second _to wash my hands!"

"One second is all a sister needs, to love her sibling."

Mari sighs. She runs her fingers through her hair and asks, "How long are we going to keep doing this, Yua?"

The blonde laughs at her. "Well I don't know about _you, _Mari-tan, but I could talk about how much I love my sister all day!"

_"Yua." _

Mari's voice is deathly serious, and it immediately wipes the grin off Yua's face.

Mari gives her a tired look. "This charade isn't fooling either of us. Why are you here? Why now? Why show up after three years? What do you want with me?"

Yua is still smiling, but it seems far more melancholic this time. "Hah. Your words are still as sharp as always, Mari-tan. I'm sorry. Your Oneesan just wanted to indulge in the feeling of being a sister once again, even if the moment was fabricated."

Mari looks away from her, not quite being able to look her in the eyes.

"You gave up being a sister a long time ago, Yua. I don't think you have any right to call yourself an _Oneesan _anymore."

Yua is silent for a few moments. Then, "I wanted to warn you," she says finally.

"About doing my homework again?"

_"No! _I just-" Yua stops and lets out a heavy sigh, a sigh that is highly out of character for her. "A lot of my," there's a tentative pause here, " _colleagues," _she decides on, "have been talking about a new threat to heroes. You heard of the Hero Killer Stain?"

Mari nods. _Of course she had. _Stain might've been niche once upon a time, but it was hard to ignore his rapidly growing notoriety, especially in all the _anti-hero _social circles Mari tended to follow.

And honestly? She found it hard not to admire the guy. She knows she shouldn't be thinking like this as a _UA student, _but the man had become something of a personal role model to her in the last few months. And sure the killings were undoubtedly _a little much_, but his philosophy and hers were strikingly similar.

Yua continues, "Our.." she pauses again. "Let's say, '_boss' _is trying to recruit him right now. And from what I've heard of him, he's a pretty nasty dude. Now that you're actually becoming a hero, I figured I'd give you a heads up."

Mari scrunches her nose at her. "Are you in a gang, Yua?"

Yua blinks at her and then she laughs. "No, no, it's more a _league _than anything." She moves her hand dismissively. "Though that's hardly what you should be getting from all this, Mari-tan. I'm just saying… It's a dangerous time to be a hero right now, you know?"

And this time Mari is the one who is laughing, a mocking snicker as she replies, "Good thing I'm not a hero then, hm?"

And though Mari is almost certain that's not why Yua has made a sudden appearance after all these years, a part of her is still glad that she's worried for her.

Yua leaves after that and though there are no heartfelt goodbyes between the Yoshizawa sisters, Yua does promise that she'll be back soon.

Mari… doesn't know how to feel about that.

It's been so, _so _long since she heard her sister say that, but this time she finds it harder to believe. Whether or not her sister was around to stay for good this time, remains yet to be seen.

.

.

.

The next day Mari Yoshizawa awakens to the sound of buzzing. A strange _unnatural _sort of buzzing, and in her half-asleep and groggy state it takes her a few moments to realise it's her phone vibrating on her bedside table.

She grumbles and turns on her phone screen, preparing to curse to hell and back whatever app was giving her so many notifications at this ungodly hour of six am. She blinks when the screen turns on, and the cheery face of _K.K. Slider _as her background shows that the buzzing is all text messages.

**_You have (5) five new messages from [hot man denki_****_]_ **

** _You have (3) three new messages from [Drama Queen]_ **

Messages from Shinso and Denki, then. Strange for _both _of them to message her, but not nearly as strange as the last notification.

** _You have (1) one new message from [Yua Yoshizawa]_ **

She blinks a few times and then rubs her eyes, as if the last notification was a hallucinatory vision as a result of Mari not being fully awake yet. But even when she rubs her face and focuses, the message remains.

She opens and replies to Denki and Shinso's messages first, having not quite mustered up the courage to open the last one yet.

**hot man denki **(6:02am)

_ YO YO YOYO _

**hot man denki **(6:02am)

_ did u hear the news?! _

**hot man denki **(6:02am)

_ usj is all over the news now! we're celebrities! _

**hot man denki **(6:03am)

_ even as i send this i bet my clout is going through the fuckin roof! _

**hot man denki **(6:03am)

_ im gonna get so many girls sliding into my dms now! this is the BEST! _

**Mari Yoshizawa** (6:06am)

_ You're too loud. _

**_ [hot man denki _ ** ** _] is now online_**

**hot man denki **(6:06am)

_ ? _

**hot man denki **(6:06am)

_ We're texting tho?_

**Mari Yoshizawa** (6:07am)

_ Still too loud. _

**hot man denki **(6:07am)

_ BRUH _

With an amused smile, Mari gets up from her bed and begins dragging her feet to the bathroom to get changed. She opens up Shinso's messages, too.

**Drama Queen **(6:03am)

_ what the fuk _

**Drama Queen **(6:03am)

_ i just saw the news, aren't you in 1a? _

**Drama Queen **(6:03am)

_ what the fuck happened on that field trip _

**ok boomer **(6:08am)

_ There was a villain attack._

**_ [Drama Queen] is now online_ **

**Drama Queen **(6:08am)

_ well no shit sherlock _

**Drama Queen **(6:08am)

_ i mean, why did they attack? _

**ok boomer **(6:09am)

_ I was unconscious when they announced it, but apparently they broke in with the reporters and wanted to kill All Might. _

**Drama Queen **(6:09am)

_ what _

**Drama Queen **(6:09am)

_ why were you unconscious _

**ok boomer **(6:10am)

_ Hit my head on some rocks after shooting the leader a couple times. _

**Drama Queen **(6:10am)

_I- _

**Drama Queen **(6:10am)

_ u shot him? _

**ok boomer **(6:10am)

_ Yes, that's what I just said. _

**Drama Queen **(6:11am)

_ like, with a gun, or..? _

**ok boomer **(6:11am)

_ What else would I use? _

**Drama Queen **(6:11am)

_ something not extremely illegal, maybe _

**ok boomer **(6:11am)

_ How boring. _

**ok boomer **(6:12am)

_ And besides, in a world where grown men can bring down entire buildings with just one punch, and little girls can possess bodies, _

**ok boomer **(6:12am)

_ How bad could one pastel pink gun be? _

**Drama Queen **(6:12am)

_ … it was pastel pink _

**ok boomer **(6:12am)

_ Not my choice. I borrowed it from my sister. _

**Drama Queen **(6:12am)

_ why does your sister own a gun_

**ok boomer **(6:13am)

_ I'm not sure. _

**ok boomer **(6:13am)

_ She's been missing for a couple years so I haven't had the chance to ask._

**Drama Queen **(6:13am)

_ missing? _

**ok boomer **(6:13am)

_ Ya. _

**ok boomer **(6:13am)

_ Well, she's not missing anymore. _

**ok boomer **(6:14am)

_ She drugged and kidnapped me last night, but I didn't get the chance to ask about the gun. _

**Drama Queen **(6:14am)

_ what _

**Drama Queen **(6:14am)

_ youre just fucking with me arent you _

**ok boomer **(6:14am)

_ A little bit, yeah. _

She exits out of her conversation with Shinso and hovers her thumb over the message from Yua with great trepidation.

** Yua Yoshizawa **(6:05am)

_ Good morning, Mari-tan! Remember to have a big breakfast to start off the day! _(◍•ᴗ•◍)❤

Mari stares at the message, squinting, as if that would make it disappear. She's not sure _how _ Yua has her number, nor _why _her sister is texting her, so she leaves it on_ read_ and continues to get ready for the day without replying.

.

.

.

Bakugou is on the train, _again, _and though he keeps glancing at Mari in the corner of his eye, he _(thankfully) _does not say anything to her.

Mari makes it the classroom without anything of note happening, up until the point she runs into _Aizawa-sensei _in the hallway, or rather, the former husk of Aizawa who has been reduced (upgraded?) to little more than an Egyptian mummy.

She knew his injuries were bad, considering she was the one who patched him up in the first place (or, at least, _attempted _to) but seeing how injured Aizawa is only reminds her of what could have been.

Seeing how well and truly_ mangled _her teacher is, she can't help but think that had not Midoriya interfered at USJ, she could have just as easily been in Aizawa's place, _if not dead._

Mari's experienced death once, experienced what it is like to put a bullet through your head - and it's _terrifying, _even when it's not your own body that's dying.

A sensation should would very much not like to repeat, _out of body _or otherwise.

Which reminds her, she should probably thank Deku for saving her life, or at least give him a sincere nod from across the classroom or something.

She squints at Aizawa as she thinks all this, and the man must misinterpret her staring for something _else, _because he narrows his eyes at her and glares. "Yoshizawa, do not say a single thing to me. I have had enough pity comments to last a lifetime."

Mari laughs at him. Obviously her sensei didn't know her that well, because sympathy or pity is the last thing she'd feel about anyone. And she tells him such. "I wasn't going to give you pity, Sensei."

Aizawa looks at her curiously and Mari continues, "I was going to tell you that _you look like shit." _

Which is true, she probably would have told him that even if he hadn't asked. Aizawa narrows his eyes further, gives her a withering glare, and then hops into the classroom without saying anything else.

Mari laughs again (or rather, blows air out of her nose in an amused sort of huff) and follows him.

It becomes clear why Aizawa told her not to pity him as her entire class begins to shout and cause a kerfuffle about his mummified state. Aizawa only manages to shut them up when he brings up the _UA Sports Festival. _

Mari knew of the festival, almost everyone in Japan did, and Yua used to make her watch them every year when she was younger. Mari Yoshizawa didn't get _excited _about these kinds of things usually (especially not if they're a school event) but even she cannot resist the pull of the enthusiasm of her class.

Against her better judgement, Mari Yoshizawa finds herself _excited _to compete against her classmates in the UA Sports Festival.

.

.

.

Her excitement doesn't last long, as when the students are let out for lunch Aizawa asks her to stay back to "have a chat" with him. Usually, this vague and ominous phrase from her perpetually grumpy teacher would have her stomach-turning, but really, she saved his life, didn't she? She didn't have anything to worry about.

If not for her, her teacher would not even have a body to bandage. Mari assumes that's what this would be about. That her teacher is grateful, as he should be, for her quick thinking at USJ, at the _heroic _actions she displayed.

He's going to finally give her the praise she deserves, because for once in her life Mari Yoshizawa knows with certainty that _she has done the right thing. _

And sure, it's weird that he's thanking her in private, but her teacher did seem to be the _tsundere _type so it makes sense.

"Yoshizawa," he begins. Mari holds back a grin just from the anticipation of finally being called a hero and being acknowledged as such by her teacher.

"I'm sure you already know what this is about."

_Oh yes, sensei, I think I have a pretty good idea. _

"Your actions at USJ-"

_Yes, go on. _

"Were, frankly, horrifying."

_What? _

Aizawa moves a hand to his bandaged face and lets out a heavy sigh. "I mean, I don't even know where to begin!" He mutters with exasperation. "First of all, what could have _possibly _made you think you could use a gun in that situation?"

Mari stares at him, baffled, but still manages to speak, "Because my quirk wouldn't work on him-"

Aizawa cuts her off. "And why did you even bring a gun, anyway? We were going to USJ for _rescue training- _"

"Yes, exactly! And that gun provided a clear advantage for when I rescued you- which, by the way, you are still _yet _to thank me for-"

"And don't think I didn't notice that you were aiming to kill-"

"Like the villains weren't?!" snaps back Mari, enraged. "The freaky hand NEET was about to kill you, sensei!"

"And he was about to kill you, too, Yoshizawa! If Midoriya wasn't there to save you, you would have died! What would you have done then?!"

"Nothing! I'd be dead! But that's _beside _the point! What makes Midoriya's actions any different to mine?! I was a _hero _at USJ, _and possibly for the first time in my life, _and I won't have you take that away from me!"

They're shouting now, the both of them, and Mari is certain she's never seen Aizawa this worked before. And she doesn't understand _why. _

_Why _is it that the first time she does try to do something genuinely heroic like save her teacher, that he gets to blow up in her face about it?

"I was a hero!" Mari shouts.

"Heroes don't say they want to kill All Might!"

"I **_did not_** say I wanted to kill All Might! I just said I _deserved _to! **_There's a difference!"_**

Aizawa sighs again and gives her a resigned look. "I didn't call you here to argue morality, Yoshizawa," he says. "You did save my life, yes, and that is _why _you are not in jail right now for owning and using an illegal firearm."

"Well, I lost the gun at USJ, anyway, so I hope you're happy-"

Aizawa ignores her comment, continuing, "I understand that you wanted to help, Yoshizawa, but your actions there were reckless, and honestly? They were _villainous _more than anything. Heroes don't hunt for blood when they fight. And that is _why, _I have made my decision on your punishment."

_"Punishment?" _Mari echoes.

"Mari Yoshizawa, you are _absolutely _forbidden from participating in the UA Sports Festival."

**_This is fucking bullshit. _**

**_._**

**_._**

**_._**

* * *

**_Extras (1)_ **

** Mari Yoshizawa **(3:34pm)

_ Denki._

** Mari Yoshizawa **(3:34pm)

_ Could I ask you a question? _

** _[hot man denki _ ** ** _] is now online_ **

**hot man denki ** (3:34pm)

_ oh i know what this is _

** Mari Yoshizawa **(3:35pm)

_ You do? _

**hot man denki ** (3:35pm)

_ its obvious _

**hot man denki ** (3:35pm)

_ and my answer is yes, i will go on a date with you _

**hot man denki ** (3:35pm)

_ but you have to pay for my meal _

** Mari Yoshizawa **(3:36pm)

_ What are you talking about?_

**hot man denki ** (3:36pm)

_ ok fine u dont have to pay _

**hot man denki ** (3:36pm)

_ ill still go_

** Mari Yoshizawa **(3:36pm)

_ That's not what I was going to ask._

**hot man denki ** (3:37pm)

_ ok fine ill pay for your meal then_

** Mari Yoshizawa **(3:37pm)

_ I'm not going on a date with you, Denki. _

**hot man denki ** (3:37pm)

_ u drive a hard bargain, mari yoshizawa _

**hot man denki ** (3:37pm)

_ but u got a deal _

**hot man denki **(3:37pm)

_ ill pay you to go on a date with me _

**hot man denki ** (3:37pm)

_ plz _

**Mari Yoshizawa **(3:38pm)

_ Stop simping. This question is actually important. _

**hot man denki ** (3:38pm)

_ ?! _

**hot man denki ** (3:38pm)

_ who taught you what simping means _

**Mari Yoshizawa **(3:39pm)

_ Denki, I'm not an idiot. I'm just as internet savvy as you. _

**hot man denki ** (3:39pm)

_ sure sure _

**hot man denki ** (3:39pm)

_ what was your question _

**Mari Yoshizawa **(3:43pm)

_ Shinso changed my nickname in our texts to "ok boomer" _

**hot man denki ** (3:43pm)

_ why would he call u a boomer lol ur 15 _

**Mari Yoshizawa **(3:43pm)

_ And it got me wondering. _

**Mari Yoshizawa **(3:43pm)

_ Who's 'boomer'? _

**hot man denki ** (3:44pm)

_ bruh _

**hot man denki ** (3:44pm)

_ i take back my previous question _

** _[hot man denki _ ** ** _] changed [MARI YOSHIZAWA]'s chat name to [ok boomer]_ **

** _[ok boomer] changed [hot man denki _ ** ** _]'s name to [simp]_ **

** simp **(3:45pm)

_ well played _

**ok boomer **(3:45pm)

_ I was just asking a question. _

**ok boomer **(3:45pm)

_ If you mock me, I'll block you. _

**simp **(3:46pm)

_ mari _

**simp **(3:46pm)

_ i mean this in the sincerest way possible,,,, _

**simp **(3:46pm)

_ but do u even know how to do that? _

** _[ok boomer] has blocked [simp]'s chats for (24) twenty-four hours_**

* * *

Aight! That's all for today! But before we jump into my long as hell a/ns, let's talk about fanart!

YA'LL! MY HOMIE STEVEN HAS DONE IT AGAIN! BLESS HIM! HE HAS PROVIDED TO US, ON THIS GLORIOUS DAY, MORE FANART! And this time it's middle school Mari! literally quaking so hard rn. all your fanarts and comments make me so happy and i am so grateful to each and every one of you readers..!

there will be a link in my profile if you'd like to see it!

but alright! here are all my absurdly long author notes for this chapter. enjoy lmao

* * *

WHOO! OKAY first of all! this chapter isn't my best, and i know it (｡•́︿•̀｡) but i wanted to get this out to you guys asap! updates might slow down after this because my study and work are really piling up lately, and i really wanted to knock out this transition between arcs real quick. but nevermind all that, let's just get to what i know u all love the most! my nonsensical and overly long author notes! lmfao!

(1) Mari and Yua have a very, let's say, _estranged_ kind of relationship right now. Yua has been gone a long time and Mari isn't someone who forgets easy. She's a petty and cold hearted gremlin who will take all her childhood grudges to the grave. Mari and Yua used to be **really** close so having Yua back in her life, without any sort of explanation as to where she's been, creates a lot of conflicting feelings for her.

ALSO! It's pretty obvious, but Yua is indeed part of the League! She's not really anyone important, rather another nameless petty villain among many, but it was no coincidence that she just happened to be there at USJ. I won't go into it too much (for fear of boring y'all to death lmao) but she did try to be a hero, once upon a time, but she just wasn't cut out for it.

One of the reasons why I added Yua to the story as well, was for her character to contrast Mari's. This whole fic is about being unconventional and the blurred morality of good and evil, so I really like the idea of the two together! The Yoshizawa Sisters! With the younger sister who's antagonistic and aloof, and also desperately trying to better herself and become a hero! Compared to the older sister who's kind, doting and wears her heart on her sleeve, who moonlights as a petty villain! I just love the thought of people meeting them on the street and being like "guess which one's the 'good guy' here"

(2) OK! A couple quick things on Yua's "disappearance". Sometime when Mari was twelve Yua didn't come home from school, and Mari wouldn't see her in person again until after USJ. Technically, Yua was never declared "a missing person" as Mari's parents never contacted the police. Yua always talked about wanting to leave, and the day she finally did Mari's parents already saw it coming.

Yua did "keep" in touch, even though she never spoke to Mari she would (as mentioned in the chapter) leave innocuous post-it notes and messages around the house for Mari to find. Mari left notes for Yua, asking where she's been and what she's doing, but Yua never replied. After a year or so, Mari stopped trying to contact her, and would throw out any notes left by her.

Mari never told her parents about these notes, nor the gun she finds in Yua's room when she's 13 and looking for answers about her disappearance. Mari, at this moment, does not know Yua is a villain, or in the league, but she fairly certain she is up to something shady.

(3) hohohoho Stain is finally mentioned,,, I wonder what he'll get up to in this fic huehehehehe

(3) "Mari's experienced death once, experienced what it is like to put a bullet through your head" just to clear a few things about this line because I realised after writing it that it could be misinterpreted. This line refers to man Mari killed (which, though some of the theories you guys have are deliciously tempting, she did indeed kill herself) by possessing him and making him shoot himself. As Mari was inside his body when it happens, and as part of her quirk, she feels what it is like to die, even though she didn't *really* die herself. It's pretty fucked if you think of the implications of it tbh, but this pink-haired child gets no mercies from me today!

(4) tsk tsk Mari. Getting forbidden from joining the festival is honestly one of most lenient punishments Aizawa could have given her, all things considered tbh. Ungrateful child. Smh. But fear not! This does not mean the entirety of the UA Sports Festival Arc will just be Mari moping at home! Mari is a rule-breaker, after all!

(5) We did it, reddit. It is now cannon in the Unconventional Universe that Kaminari Denki is, indeed, a simp. I'd like to thank everyone who allowed me to get to this moment. My parents, my readers, thank you all.

(6) im, like, 90% sure mineta will be introduced next chapter. very exciting. i know this the moment you all have been waiting for, so i thought i'd let all the mineta stans know (lmfao i cant even type this out with a straight face-)

have a good day everyone and stay safe!


	17. MARI YOSHIZAWA WANTS TO GET ALONG

Reviews from Last Chapter!

**Aqua Salmon**, chapter 16: I'm so very, very happy to hear that! I know with this story and these themes it can be a fine line between "_interesting morally ambiguous character vs. edgy 15 year old just discovered anarchy is a real thing and has gone to town with it"._

You're too good to me, Aqua, ngl but thank you so much for this review! I'm glad you like the story!

**Anonymous "anonymouse",** Chapter 16: Once again, wonderful start to a review (I'm so glad to have inspired this change, easily my greatest achievement in life) LMFAO i'm laughing so hard! Mari is a fool, an arrogant fool but I digress. She definitely should have asked about the gun, but I think deep down she probably knows the answer, and just didn't want it confirmed.

No worries! I always have time (+respect) for any looking to improve their writing! I know I always am, too, so it's good to ask!

Ah yes yes it's not all that common so I don't blame you. The phrase "NEET" is a Japanese acronym meaning 'Not in Education, Employment or Training'. Basically, someone not in school or the workforce. Mari called Shigaraki that as villains obviously can't do either of those, and she's mocking him.

**ansegiel,** Chapter 16: I'm glad you like it! And yes, lmao, Kaminari gets no mercy in this story, he is a simp and THE WORLD NEEDS TO KNOW DAMNIT

**Aqua Salmon**, chapter 16: "vibe-checked into the fifth dimension" is an absolutely amazing phrase and I will now use it until the day i dIE. Your reviews always manage to make me wheeze, thank you so much.

And yes! Someone will, indeed, be getting vibe-checked at the UA festival!

**Aqua Salmon**, chapter 14: She has not made it yet, but I assure when she does that it will be _cruel._

Thank you so much for your reviews and support, everyone!

* * *

**MARI YOSHIZAWA WANTS TO GET ALONG WITH HER CLASSMATES**

* * *

(or, rather, she just wants Denki to _get off her ass_ about getting along with them)

.

.

.

**I am a grey woman.**

My life… is muted. Everything in _grayscale._

I regard the world around me with a detached sense of _numbness_. I might have seen colours once, perhaps in the mere moments after my birth before my rose-tinted world was _stolen_ and _dulled_, but the concept of colour is nothing but a fleeting memory to me now.

I am a shade of grey amongst a world of colour, a soul without an ounce of life to it.

**I am a grey woman, who only sees in monochrome.**

All my shaded and stained hands know is sin, and _yet_ \- I'm selfish. I still yearn to see more. I still dare to long for colours beyond my reach, for hues my eyes do not deserve to view.

**I am a greedy woman.**

Despite my dulled world and undeserving nature, I bathe in the colours of others. Those bright colours I dare call friends - inviting shades of yellow, purple, green, red or white - shades I greedily bask in, clinging to any source of colour like it's a lifeline.

**I am a sinful woman.**

I am the forsaken; the punished.

Even when I try to be anything else beyond my shades of grey, it never lasts. I am an imposter. A black-hole, devoid of colour, stealing the hues of others and claiming them as my own.

**I am a deceitful woman.**

And perhaps that is why, after so many years in the dark -

My world, only _finally_ being introduced to the wonderful thing that is _colour_ once more, has been robbed again.

My world is bleak; **an unconventional colour of ****_grey_****, **drab and dreary, and that is all it will ever be.

Perhaps this is retribution.

**I will always be a grey woman.**

I will always be grey, no matter the colour of my hair,

Nor the colours I ensnare with my dull and surround myself with.

**I am grey, and that is all I will ever be.**

The colours I know - they are not like me.

If I stay near them, foolishly trying to absorb the shades of colour I can't see -

Then all I will do is turn them black and grey like me.

I will make them_ dull,_ and drag them down to my level of dreariness.

Drag them down to my world, where the sun will never shine, because that is far too lovely a sight, for an _unconventional, freak of grey like me._

I am grey, and that is all I ever be.

I am a villain, and that is all I will ever be.

(you foolish, foolish colour of grey)

* * *

Mari Yoshizawa leaves the classroom feeling a lot worse than when she entered it that morning. She wants to understand, wants to learn whatever_ lesson_ there is to be taught here, but she can't.

She _should_ be feeling regret or remorse, according to Aizawa,_ but she can't._ She can't bring herself to be apologetic for saving a life, can't make her shame herself or feel _guilt_ for doing the supposed "right thing".

In fact, the only thing she _does_ feel sorry for or _regret_, is listening to all the damn people that told her to act less like a villain and more like a hero.

Saving someone is in the _definition of a hero_ and where the hell did that get her?

She finds it harder and harder to justify playing the _"good guy"_ if the people around her will treat her as the_ villain,_ regardless.

Maybe this is retribution.

The universe's fucked up way of seeking penance for the man whose life she took, and the jail sentence she so narrowly escaped as a child. Maybe this is karma, or even _destiny._

Perhaps, this is her destiny, because she is not worth a fate any better than this.

Or maybe she's just being dramatic and is one angsty thought away from a tantrum. Really, there's no way to tell.

Either way, Mari Yoshizawa is _salty._

And the purple midget that bumps into her as she's deep in thought in the UA hallways only makes her bad mood even worse. She's not paying attention, and the student she bumps into is far below her eyesight, so she bowls him over without much thought.

_Strike!_

She spares a glance at the student after the collision, scrutinising the purple-haired boy with _balls for hair_ for a moment before shaking her head and walking over him.

Considering the banshee yelp he let out when she hit him, it's surprising how fast he gets to his feet to scramble after her. "Hey!" he shouts, nasally voice matching the boy far too perfectly. "Who the hell do you think you are?"

And this _does_ cause Mari to turn around, short pink hair flying behind her as she gives the student what Denki refers to as her "Medusa stare".

True to the expression's namesake, the boy does stiffen when his eyes meet hers, like a stone statue frozen in time. Maybe it's because she's still _salty_ at Aizawa's words, but Mari decides that this time it isn't satisfying enough to give him a cold look and walk away.

Instead, she pins him down with her _black, black eyes_ and looms over him. "I think the better question, little man, is who the hell do you think you are for talking to someone so much more _clearly_ above you?" she asks.

It's been a long time since Mari has been so openly antagonistic to a stranger, let alone a UA student who doesn't even reach her shoulders, but she figures she's already in hot shit with the UA staff, so she might as well go down kicking.

The boy doesn't speak, still far too _paralysed,_ so Mari takes this as a sign to continue. "Who are you to have the sheer _audacity_ to ask _**Mari Yoshizawa **_who she is? Who are _you_ to bump into _me_ and then have the_ balls_ to ask such a foolish thing?"

The boy does not say anything for a few moments more. Mari smiles and leans back, a satisfied expression on her face. At least all this hero nonsense wasn't dulling her edge.

Or at least, that's what she assumes, until the purple-haired midget opens his mouth and murmurs, _"That was fucking hot as hell."_

Mari stares at him for a few moments, brain cells (the precious few of them) whirling to process what this pocket-sized _McDonald's Grimace knock-off_ has just muttered in her vicinity.

In her stupor she doesn't say anything in response, and the purple-haired student takes this as an opportunity to _introduce himself._

"I can't believe I haven't introduced myself to a hottie like you yet! Mineta Minoru at your service! I'm from the general course, _but you can still call me your hero!"_

Mari stares at the outstretched hand of this purple-haired _child_, almost impressed by his boldness.

'Mineta' continues his nonsense. "So you're Mari-chan, huh? That's super cute! What's your quirk? The devil horns and tail are _super hot!"_

Mari is still too stunned to say anything in response. Unperturbed, the madman continues with his questions.

_"Could you technically be described as 'horny'?"_

_"Is your tail like, super sensitive?"_

_"You're going for the succubus look right? I dig it. Mega hot. The succubus was totally my favourite character in Funbag Fantasy. And she had pink hair too, this is, like, fate-"_

_Yes,_ Mari thinks, listening to the midget's rambling,_ this was undoubtedly karmic retribution from the universe._

Their one-sided 'conversation' continues for a moment until a hand is placed on her shoulder and Shinso Hitoshi is by her side, face in his permanent deadpan as per usual.

_"Yoshizawa, what the fu-"_

He stops upon meeting the gaze of Mineta Minoru. Two purple-haired forces meet one another.

Shinso's perpetually narrowed eyes narrow even more so, to the point where Mari thinks they might disappear. By the "colder-than-usual" deadpan Shinso gives him, Mari assumes they must know each other.

Her suspicions are confirmed when Mineta lights up like a Christmas tree and slaps Shisno's shoulder good-naturedly (well, more of his lower back, considering the height difference). "Hitoshi-chan!" he exclaims, voice cheery like he was greeting an old friend.

_"Don't call me that."_

Mineta grins at him and then looks to Mari. "Mari-chan, this is Shinso Hitoshi. He's my best friend!" and at this Mari's eyes widen, but Mineta continues regardless, "We're classmates! He's a little rough around the edges and horrible with the ladies, but he's got purple hair like me! Isn't that cool?"

Mari can only stare at Shinso with mild horror and alarm, asking while raising an eyebrow, "You're really friends with this purple menace?"

The brainwasher gives her a thoroughly resigned look. With a heavy sigh, he flicks Mineta's hand away and replies with a deadpan. "I mistook him for an elementary schooler on the first day and asked if he needed any help to find his parents. He claimed us to be best friends ever since."

Mari might've thought he was joking if not for the suffering in his eyes.

Mari pities him, she really does.

Mineta continues, despite Shinso's clear lack of enthusiasm for their 'friendship'. "Haven't you heard about his quirk?!" he asks her excitedly. "He can brainwash people! Imagine how many girls you could trick into fu-"

Mineta doesn't get the chance to finish as Shinso grabs him by the ear. "Hey, Mineta?"

The purple-haired midget gives him a weary look. "Yeah?"

"Stop speaking."

Mineta shuts up pretty fast after that and it occurs to Mari that this is the first time she's ever seen Shinso actually use his quirk. Nonetheless for such a _petty_ reason.

Mari gives him an approving nod. "Neat trick," she tells him "Some tape or perhaps _a machete_ would have worked, too, though."

Shinso gives her a wry grin. "Good idea for next time," he tells her.

Mineta gives them both an exasperated expression, but of course, is unable to protest their suggestions. Now with the purple-haired menace out the way, Shinso continues what he presumably was going to say to her before.

"Was all that stuff you said this morning true?"

Mari watches him with amusement. "What 'stuff' are you referring to?"

"USJ, kidnapping, _the gun."_

The pink-haired girl tilts her head at him. "Do you think I'd lie to you, Shinso?"

"Without a doubt."

The way he replies almost immediately makes Mari laugh. She continues, "Sorry to disappoint, but sadly it is true. Though with all this USJ aftermath it's seeming more and more like a bad fever dream if anything."

"The hero course is_ fucked,_" murmurs Shinso.

"Fucked indeed," Mari says back. "You sure you still want in?"

Shinso scoffs at her. "Don't insult me."

Mari laughs again. "Shame, it's what I do best."

"I'm going to do it."

"Do what?"

"Get in the hero course."

Mari pauses, watching the way his dead-fish eyes narrow in determination at this. "I don't doubt it. Do me a favour, will you, and replace the blonde loudmouth in my class that I went to middle school with."

"Bet."

There's a lull in the conversion, a brief silence filled with promise, before Shinso speaks again. "Tell your classmates to watch out at the Sports Festival, Yoshizawa."

And with that foreboding promise, he turns and walks away from her. Mineta, still silenced under Shinso's quirk, follows after him with muted exasperation.

The theatrics of it all makes Mari laugh, and suddenly the failure of USJ doesn't feel as heavy on her shoulders anymore.

.

.

.

By the time Mari sullenly drags her feet to the cafeteria, most of lunch has passed and a majority of the food has been cleaned out already. Which really makes Mari just feel worse.

And on a c_ompletely unrelated side note that has absolutely nothing to do with her mood getting worse_, Denki is not sitting at their usual table. A quick examination of the room for ridiculous blonde hair makes her spot Bakugou, who just so happens to be sitting next to Denki.

A majority of her classmates sit together on a large table, the table they usually all huddle around like ravenous seagulls. Denki sitting with them, however, is far from the usual.

It makes sense, though, she supposes.

Her and Denki were very different people.

Denki was a_ people person_ and Mari… well, she was hardly the outgoing type.

She's always known this.

It was no secret that he got along easily with the rest of her class, and really, she feels foolish thinking that Denki would always spend all his lunches sitting alone with her, when he has an entire table of better company to sit with.

_Really_, she thinks, watching Denki laugh and talk to her classmates with an amount of social ease and charm that Mari thinks impossible for someone like her, _this was inevitable._

She was wondering why such a popular boy like Denki bothered to give her the time of day, and she knew it was probably just a matter of time until it would just be her sitting at the table by herself.

With a drawn-out exhale Mari refuses to acknowledge as a _sigh_, she makes her way to an empty table to finish what was left of the lunch period.

_Destiny, indeed._

She scrolls through her dashboard on her blog, idly reminding herself to post her scathing exposé piece about Endeavour when she next gets the chance, when she gets a text message on her phone.

**_You have (1) one new message from [Midoriya Izuku]_ **

Now that was something she hadn't ever imagined to see. How did Deku manage to get her number?

She opens the message.

**Midoriya Izuku **(12:42pm)

_ why the fuk r u sitting alone _

Mari blinks a few times, her mind trying to imagine spineless Deku orchestrating such a message.

The next text she gets only confuses her more.

**Midoriya Izuku **(12:42pm)

_ It's ur bf btw _

Mari hovers her fingers over the reply button, ready to ask what illegal substance Midoriya was on to get such sudden bravado when yet another text comes in.

**Midoriya Izuku **(12:42pm)

_ u look confused _

**Midoriya Izuku **(12:43pm)

_ It's denki, im using midoriya's phone _

**Midoriya Izuku **(12:43pm)

_ my phone is wigging out, won't let me see ur contact anymore _

Well, that explains all the sudden _ idiocy _in Deku's texting. Mari turns around and sees Denki waving frantically at her, and even from this distance she can, indeed, spot Midoriya's tacky green phone and obnoxious All Might phone case in his hand.

But it does beg the question of how he was able to text her still. I mean, it wasn't like Denki had her number memorised or anything, right?

The implications of that are strange to think about, so she doesn't. Instead, Mari shakes her head and turns back to her table. She begins typing.

**Mari Yoshizawa **(12:44pm)

_ I see. _

She hesitates before going to answer his initial question.

**Mari Yoshizawa **(12:44pm)

_ I'm sitting alone because our class is rowdy and bothersome. _

**Mari Yoshizawa **(12:44pm)

_ And since you are not here to sit with me, I am sitting by myself. _

As soon as she sends her third message it suddenly occurs to her how _ needy _that sounds. She hurries to delete the text but Denki has already replied, and she doubts she knows how to, anyway.

**Midoriya Izuku **(12:44pm)

_ Awwww mari i miss u too bb _

**Midoriya Izuku **(12:44pm)

_ Also, i sent u like, 15 messages did u not see them? _

**Mari Yoshizawa **(12:45pm)

_ Oh. I think I still have you blocked. _

**[Midoriya Izuku] sent you a gif.**

Denki sends a gif of an anime character falling down in exasperation. After that comes another message.

**Midoriya Izuku **(12:45pm)

_ BRUH _

**Midoriya Izuku **(12:45pm)

_ thatd be why they werent goin thru smh _

**Midoriya Izuku **(12:45pm)

_ unblock me! _

**Mari Yoshizawa **(12:46pm)

_ I don't know how._

As soon as Mari sends this she hears a sign from behind her. She turns her head and sees Denki standing above her, snatching her phone from her hand. Mari protests and goes to grab it back, but he holds it above her head and begins tapping the screen.

After a few motions, he hands it back to her. "There we go," he says with a content sigh. "Now your regularly scheduled Denki messages should be coming through again."

He looks at her like he's expecting her to say thanks, so she instead glares at him.

Denki rolls his eyes and grabs her by the arm. "C'mon, it won't hurt to sit with your classmates once in a blue moon."

His nagging frighteningly resembled her mother's but she ignores that. "It _could_ hurt. Maybe just not for me." she retorts. Denki ignores her comment and continues to drag her to the class table.

It's hard to miss the way her classmates all stop their animated discussions to stare at her when she approaches the table.

_Shit,_ she thinks. The open-mouth gawking was _exactly_ the kind of bothersome thing she was hoping to avoid by sitting alone.

"Mari-chan wants to sit with us!" Denki announces.

Mari swiftly elbows him in the stomach, already protesting, "I _do not-"_

But her words are drowned out by the sudden excited chattering of her classmates. One of them, the brown-haired girl she vaguely remembers from the Bakugou vs Deku training fight, speaks up.

"There's no need to be shy, Yoshizawa-san! We don't bite!"

At the brunette's statement, she can't help but glance suspiciously at Bakugou, who's eating his food and resolutely not making eye contact with her.

Denki, it seems, notices her apprehension and laughs while slapping the angry blonde's back. "Bakugou, man, you can manage to, like, not be a dick to Mari for ten minutes, right?"

At the mention of his name, Bakugou looks up, and, with all the elegance and grace expected of him, shouts angrily in response. "HAH?"

Denki laughs and turns to Mari with a reassuring grin. "I'm fluent in _asshole_ and that means yes!"

Despite Denki's excitement, Mari still isn't convinced. "C'mon, Mari, you can have some of my leftover pancakes!"

Mari's eyes narrow dangerously on the food on his tray.

_Pancakes._

That's what she missed with Aizawa's nonsensical lecture?

Mari sits down faster than she ever has before. Her classmates laugh at this.

A few moments pass in silence, and though Denki is positively beaming at the feat of having Mari sit with him, no one else at the table has spoken yet.

That is, until, a girl with long black hair cooly offers her hand from above the table.

"I believe some introductions are in order. You've been in our class for quite some time but I've neglected to formally introduce myself. _Momo Yaoyorozu."_

The table seems to hold its breath for a moment.

Mari stares at the outstretched hand, wondering if she should bother to return to the sentiment. After all, she _did_ introduce herself on the first day and it's fairly obvious her classmates already knew who she was… It was less an introduction and more a gesture of good faith, it seems.

Highly unnecessary.

And yet... when one is face to face with the excited puppy dog face of Kaminari Denki, it is hard to be your usual asshole self.

Mari swallows the pancake she'd been eating and takes her hand. _"Mari Yoshizawa."_ She offers in return. An unspoken peace offering of sorts.

And just like that, the table explodes into lively pandemonium.

.

.

.

The rest of lunch passes in a similar way, with most of her classmates reintroducing themselves to her.

Maybe it's the blueberry pancakes talking, but Mari actually tries to remember their names, this time. And she finds conversation with them actually isn't that _awful._

In fact, a majority of them actually have interests she can relate to. And whenever there's a lull in the conversation, Denki is there to back her up with some prompts or a change in topic.

The blonde Frenchmen, _Yuga,_ she now knows, dramatically tells her what a shame their loss in the team battles were, and confidently promises her to _"put on an even more dazzling show"_ the next exercise they do together.

The pink-haired alien-resembling girl named Mina (a classmate she previously dismissed because of how_ loud_ she was) declares them sisters separated at birth, and that they're destined to be friends because they both have horns and pink hair.

A pretty weak reason to befriend someone, but Mari keeps her thoughts to herself and simply nods at her.

Following that, a frog girl seated to Mina's left insists Mari calls her _Tsu-chan_ and Mari simply nods at her too.

She's not… the best at articulating herself but she finds simple nods the easiest to navigate these conversations with.

Four-eyes, their class president, comments on the books he sees her reading in class. He offers his thoughts of the authors she's read and Mari would be lying to herself if she said it wasn't nice to finally have someone to discuss books with.

Off-handedly, Tenya tells her that she's much nicer than he expected, admittedly, and Mari ignores the part of her mind vehemently protesting that and instead tells him that he's slightly less boring than she thought.

The brown-haired girl from before introduces herself as Uraraka, and she tells Mari that she was inspired by her actions at USJ.

Mari.. doesn't know how to feel about that. On one hand, she almost sort-of glad someone considered her actions heroic and not villainous, but she also doesn't particularly like the idea of some hero student looking up to her.

Fearing her… sure, she was used to that.

But having someone say she admired her?

It didn't feel right. It seemed suspicious.

Like someone was playing a trick on her.

But she ignores that feeling and goes to her always-trusty conversational nod.

Tail-boy, or _Ojiro_, similarly also commends her quick thinking at USJ.

Kirishima tells her she's the manliest girl he knows for shooting a villain, and Denki assures her that he means that as a good thing.

Koda and Sato do not speak at the table much, but still each offer her their names.

Shoji and Tokoyami both give her solemn nods, which she wordlessly returns.

Jiro apologises for Denki's idiocy and busy-body tendencies and they both insult him for a few moments. After this, she also apologises about the whole ear-rupturing thing and offers Mari some tips on how to treat it if any problems arise from it.

Sero laughs at her cold disposition and tells her he still thinks she's crazy for shooting a League member, but also wildly entertaining for it. Denki also buts in saying that Sero plays quite a few video games himself, so they exchange a few thoughts on upcoming releases together.

Hagakure is just as enthusiastic as Uraraka at her actions at USJ and commends her "girl power".

Mari Yoshizawa finds herself… actually getting along with her classmates. And that, in itself, is something wildly shocking to her.

Nonetheless, she doesn't quite smile at them but she fights back her resting bitch-face and tries not to roll her eyes at them. They seemed like… _okay_ people for the most part. She might as well as throw them a bone and _play nice_ for once in her life.

If only to get Denki to stop nagging her about talking to them.

.

.

.

Engaging with her classmates goes surprisingly well up until the point that Bakugou opens his mouth. As most things go when Bakugou gets involved, it pretty much goes downhill from there.

His comment is innocuous, as far as most of the phrases that leave Bakugou's mouth usually go. He'd remained quiet that lunch for the most part, but Mari would have to be a bigger fool than Denki to not notice the way he kept glancing at her - or, more specifically, her gloves.

Eventually, when she finishes her brief conversation with the rest of her classmates, he speaks up. "How are your hands." he asks. The question is blunt, phrased more like a statement than anything, and his tone is reluctant.

Mari's doesn't bother to mask her surprise. "Careful, Bakugou. Almost sounded like you were concerned for a moment there." She says, trying oh so very hard to keep her voice neutral.

Bakugou rolls his eyes and grumbles a bit. "Forget I asked, then."

And though Bakugou clearly intends to leave that completely out-of-character question of his at that, Denki does not. The electric blonde seated next to her narrows his eyes at her gloves, as the rest of her classmates do.

She didn't think the gloves she wore were that strange, but she supposes it was inevitable that someone would ask about it. She just never expected that someone to be _Bakugou_, especially after he made it very clear to her that she wasn't to bring it up at UA.

"Your hands?" Denki asks, peering at her curiously.

Mari brushes him off and takes another bite from her (technically his) lunch. "It's nothing-" she begins saying, intending not to draw any more attention to herself than necessary when Midoriya cuts her off.

"Is this about… the burns?" the green-haired boy interjects quietly.

He's not looking away from her when he says this, rather staring her down resolutely.

Mari blinks once and then swallows. "Uh, yeah." She says after a few moments. "How did you-"

He cuts her off again. Another bold move from Deku of all people. "I saw them." he says, sounding more confident in what he was saying this time. "In the nurse's office."

That _does_ add up, unfortunately. She'd taken off her gloves to help Deku No. 2 and couldn't find them after she was knocked out. And she supposes that would be the first time since middle school that he'd seen her hands…

Mari looks down at her gloves.

Next to her, Denki speaks again. "Burns? Did you injure your hands?"

The cat seemed to already be out of the bag, but she still sends Bakugou a look before she says anything else. He looks away from her and doesn't say anything.

Mari bristles slightly at the cold way he ignores her but presses on anyway. Slowly, she removes her black gloves for her classmates to see. More than a few of them grimace at the discoloured skin and obvious burn patches. Todoroki, in particular, seems to be staring at her burns rather intensely.

Denki lets out a strange choking sound but it seems less like a sound of horror and more like one of concerned surprise. He immediately reaches for her hand, holding it in his. Usually, Mari's first reaction to someone grabbing her hand - especially her hand without her usual gloves on it - would be to punch them in the face.

But Denki's touch is … almost nice. Familiar. Comfortable.

She's too stunned by his sudden action to react properly, anyway.

He holds her fingers and examines them. "Oh my god, Mari, are you OK?"

That was a question that would take far longer than the lunch period to answer, but she presumes he is talking about her_ hands_ only and goes to answer him. "Yeah, it was a long time ago." Foolishly, she spares another glance at the apathetic explosive blonde sitting across from her. He's still not looking at her, but there's a tightness in his jaw that indicates he's likely grinding his teeth right about now. Mari continues, "It barely hurts anymore."

Inevitably, Denki's next question is "How did this happen?"

Mari blinks, trying not to focus on the prying eyes of all her classmates as Denki asks this.

She considers lying to him, but supposes there's really no reason to be secretive or protect her attacker's integrity (of which, she highly doubted he had any, anyway.)

"Oh." she says after a few moments. "They're from Bakugou."

Distantly, she thinks she can hear a fuse in Bakugou's head _shattering_ and Midoriya choking on blueberry pancakes.

* * *

AND THAT'S ALL FOR THIS FILLER CHAPTER!

OK SO FIRSTLY!

IM SORRY FOR BEING AWAY FOR SO LONG - _almost an entire month!_ Work and my studies have gotten super busy recently but the chapters shouldn't take longer than a few weeks after this! ALSO! I turned 18 last week and spent the entire weekend with my mates which is usually when I write (｡•́︿•̀｡)

Anywho! I know not a lot happens in this one _plot-wise_ but I thought it was important to have another USJ aftermath chapter, reflecting Mari's conflicting headspace with heroics and her interacting with her classmates more! But enough about that, let's get into some **_juicy_** author notes (once again, i will indeed be popping off for these so please brace yourself)

1) Mari really doesn't know how to feel in this. She knows she isn't exactly "hero material" but she does genuinely believe that what she did at USJ _was_ heroic and though the end result was good, she can't understand that _how_ you get results counts for being a hero, too. SO right now she's got a lot of conflicting emotions about heroics and morality, and a lot of negative emotions focused at Aizawa and UA. She's stubborn but she'll eventually understand that Aizawa has a good point in all this.

2) I both hate and love Mineta so much. It's so confusing. Like, on one hand, I'm like, "shut the fuck up you stupid grape" and on the other hand, I'm like, "ah yes, mineta, we're not that different, you and I. we are brothers in arms, perverts in cahoots."

_**Also**__,_ the game Mineta references - "Funbag Fantasy" is indeed a popular hentai game that takes like 60+ hours to complete. The main character/main girl is a succubus with a devil tail, horns and pink hair. I can't make this shit up y'all.

(AND I ONLY KNOW ABOUT IT FOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH PURPOSES I SWEAR)

3) My H/C is that, if Mineta were in the General Course, he would totally follow Shinso around and claim them to be best friends. God bless Shinso's poor soul. Rest in Peace Shinso (⌣_⌣")

4) Somehow, Mari's character is both the most arrogant person alive and the most insecure. Which, is why she accepts pretty easily that Denki doesn't want to sit with her. She's a foolish and contradicting little gremlin smh

5) There are very few things in this world Mari wouldn't do for pancakes.

6) I get the feeling that Mari and Tenya would be weirdly good friends. Like, Tenya would disapprove of nearly everything he does, but he would stick around her, convinced that "he could reform her" and they would probably talk about literature together when he wasn't lecturing her.

7) The wonderful user _**ferallahey**_from ao3 made some ABSOLUTELY STUNNING FANART OF MARI! The piece is called "Mari Yoshizawa Wants Your Silence" and a link to it can be found on my profile!

* * *

OK I GOT A FEW MORE EXTRA THINGS FOR YALL THIS WEEK

FIRST OF ALL _(and please tell me if I'm getting carried away with this lmao)_ I HAVE BEEN PLANNING A SPIN-OFF FOR THIS STORY!

okokokokkok but hear me out. After getting a comment from the reader _**YuuTama**_ on chapter 12 for the ao3 version of this story, I have been INSPIRED. She talked about Mari being in a sukeban, which is a Japanese school girl gang. And that got me thinking about what it _would_ be like if the cast from this story didn't have quirks, and was thrown in a high school gang AU.

And then I couldn't stop thinking about it

So I want to write side story/spin-off where Mari Yoshizawa runs a school gang named_ The Tunnel Snakes_ (yes, indeed, referencing Fallout 3 - the name was Denki's idea) and the story focuses on her rivalry with Bakugou's school gang while Mari gets more members. So here's what I was thinking for each character:

Mari Yoshizawa

\- Her nickname is _Medusa - __**"One look into a man's eyes and she owned him. Consumed him. Paralysed his very being and devoured him whole. And for this freakish power, they called her Medusa."**_

**\- **Mari was groomed from a very young age to join the _Yakuza_ gang run by All For One but during her gang initiation, she rebelled and tried to shoot AFO. She said that she'd bow to no one, and that she'd make a gang that would one day beat his, leading to the creation of the _**Tunnel Snakes**_

\- Mari would remain the only member for a long time until Denki joins

Kaminari Denki

\- Second member of the _Tunnel Snakes._ He's Mari's right-hand man or "right snake". Since they didn't have a name at the time, Denki chose _Tunnel Snakes_ and Mari agrees because they're both video game nerds

\- He calls himself Python but no one else does

\- People in school call him "Calamari" after Mari publicly said his name wrong and called him that

\- _The Tunnel Snake's_ hideout is actually Denki's mother's garage

\- Denki joins after watching Mari beat up third-years when she was a first-year, was immediately in love _(fuckin simp)_ and vowed to serve her till death did them part. Mari reluctantly agreed, and he's only her right-hand man because there was literally no one else to choose from

\- _The Tunnel Snakes_ remains a duo until their second year in high school, when Shinso joins

.

_**"Is there a gang initiation? You're not gonna like, shave my balls or anything, right?"**_

_**"I'm… not sure."**_

_**"What? Are you saying there is a possibility my balls will be shaved?"**_

_**"Stop talking about your balls. I'm not sure because I've never done an initiation for anyone in the gang before."**_

_**"Wait… how many people are in this gang?"**_

_Mari thinks for a few moments, seemingly doing calculations on her hands. After a moment she answers. __**"Just me, for now."**_

_**"Oh boy."**_

_**.**_

Shinso Hitoshi

\- Shinso is the third member of the _Tunnel Snakes._ He joins UA High as a transfer student, there are rumours that he was expelled from his previous school and that he killed a man when in reality he just moved because his dad got a promotion and this was the closest school

\- Shinso isn't really violent, but he doesn't care enough to correct any of the rumours

\- Gangs in the area try to scout him and Shinso turns them all down. Mari hears how "in-demand" he is and decides she wants him to herself, mainly to piss off Bakugou's gang and because she's _selfish_ like that

\- Mari challenges him to a hand-to-hand fight, saying if Shinso won she would personally make sure none of the other gangs in the area ever laid a hand on him or his family, and that if she won he'd have to join her gang

\- Inevitably, Mari cheats. She uses illegal weapons and hides brass knuckles under her gloves. Shinso calls her out about this, after the fight. Mari laughs and says, _**"And what are you gonna do about it? Cheaters prosper. It's the UA way. Plus Ultra. Now, you in or you out?"**_

\- Shinso joins because he has nothing better to do and becomes her left-hand man. He's given the nickname _Cobra._

Bakugou Katuski

\- Bakugou is the leader of the rival gang of the school

\- Like in _Unconventional_ he had a major childhood crush on Mari, was cruelly rejected, and still holds a vendetta about it

\- He is the embodiment of_ Wattpad Bad-boy_ \- leather jacket, motorcycles and heavy music

\- Mina and Kirishima are his right and left hands - Both are actually _great_ friends with Kaminari, much to the annoyance of Bakugou

\- His gang name is _Death Killers_ \- which he came up with himself and is very sensitive about. Unlike the T_unnel Snakes,_ Bakugou's gang is actually quite large

Midoriya Izuku

\- Is constantly terrorised by Bakugou's gang, one day the bullying escalates to threats about his family and he turns to the **_Tunnel Snakes_**for protection, mainly because he knows Bakugou and Mari have a past and because he went to middle school with Mari

.

_**"Please, I'm begging you!"**_

_**"And what is it that you're offering then? Surely if you dare prostrate yourself before me then you have something of value to offer."**_

_**"I…"**_

_**"Money?"**__ he flinches. __**"Information, brawn?"**_

_**"I… my body. I offer you my body."**_

_**"What good is a body without a spine?"**_

_**"Please! I'll join your gang! I'll do your paperwork! I'll be your lackey and do whatever you want! Just please say my family will be safe!"**_

_Shinso interjects saying that's not enough. Mari cuts him off. "__**Let's not jump the gun. I see… potential here. Tell me, Midoriya Izuku, would you kill for me?"**_

_**"What?"**_

_**"You heard me. And I don't like repeating myself."**_

_**"I… No, I can't. I'm sorry."**_

_**"Good. You're in."**_

_**"What? But I just told you-"**_

_**"I don't need another killer. I'm selfish, you see, I don't like sharing the spotlight. So you… You shall be my conscious, and I, your spine. From now on the only life you have to sacrifice is your own. Having said that, I expect you to give me your everything."**_

**.**

\- Midoriya is the fourth member to join, nicknamed Prey by the school. Mari calls him _"Spineless"_

I have more notes as more members do join, like Todoroki or Monoma, but these notes are already _far too long._ So if you made it this far please tell me what you think! Would that be something you guys are interested in?

Anywho, thank you all for reading, and I'm sorry for talking so much lmao.


	18. MARI YOSHIZAWA WANTS YOUR BODY

broo,,, im just as surprised as yall that this chapter came out so early! i hope this makes up for the wait from the last one!

Reviews from Last Chapter!

**WhEdgy, **chapter 17: bakugou finna get his toxic ass _cancelled _sis sksksksk we got the RECEIPTS HUNTIE and someone bout to vibe check his ass. also! YES! I'm so glad you like the idea! I'm super excited to write it!

**Littlecosma001,** chapter 17: ahh! I'm so happy to hear that! I've already written a bunch of scenes that I thought would be fun and I can't wait to start properly wiring and publishing chapters for you all!

**Muddy Birdy,** chapter 17: Thank you for the support! It makes me super stoked to hear it!

* * *

MARI YOSHIZAWA WANTS YOUR BODY

* * *

(otherwise known as: Midoriya finally snaps and Todoroki is a closet pervert. Pass it on.)

.

.

.

_"Oh." she says after a few moments. "They're from Bakugou."_

_Distantly, she thinks she can hear a fuse in Bakugou's head shattering and Midoriya choking on blueberry pancakes._

Predictably, it is after she says this that absolute _chaos _erupts at her table.

_This is why I shouldn't sit with my classmates, _Mari thinks wearily as she watches them all begin shouting, heckling Bakugou and swatting invasive questions her way.

Mari sighs as Denki rises from his seat, grabbing Bakugou's shirt in his fist and shaking him down like a petty _yakuza _gang member.

"What the hell did you do to Mari?!"

However amusing it is to watch, dealing with the aftermath of Bakugou beating Denki up for threatening him is _not _something Mari wants to deal with.

Mari stands from her seat, preparing to knock Denki across the head for being an idiot, when Midoriya also stands from his seat. She barely acknowledges him, presuming he's going with _Four Eyes _to grab a teacher before this escalates into a brawl (well, less a brawl and Denki getting blown to smithereens, if Bakugou's track record is anything to go by) but he does something considerably worse.

Something that is unequivocally _stupid _and completely out of character for the timid green-haired boy.

There are very few moments in Mari Yoshizawa's life where she feels _genuinely _speechless, but truly - there are no words in the universe to describe how utterly _gobsmacked _the girl is to watch Midorioya punch Bakugou in the back of the head.

What a surreal thing it is to witness, seeing the _spineless, _**_quirkless _**_Midoriya Izuku _punch Bakugou Katsuki in the back of the head.

She had watched this boy take _years _of torment from Bakugou without batting an eye and _this _is what sets him off?

His breaking point, _where he draws the line, _is not when the blonde tells him to jump off a building, or when he burns years of his research - but instead, when he discovered he burnt the girl he's spoken to a handful of times in his life?

The girl who called him spineless and actively shuts down his attempts of friendship?

The girl who calls him a coward and mocks him whenever it fancies her?

**_Holy shit, Midoriya, you fucking emotional masochist, what are you doing!?_**

Mari hasn't ever done drugs in her life, but surely, this feeling of surrealness, this feeling of detachment from the world just from the sheer absurdity of the situation, must be what it's like to be on acid.

_Yes, _Mari decides, watching Bakugou whirl around in anger and tackle Midoriya to the floor, _this must be a hallucination._

_I need to stop this, _she thinks numbly, her body still not quite having caught up to her brain.

As amusing as it is to watch her childhood friends(?) _(Burdens? Enemies?)_roll around on the cafeteria floor of UA, exchanging punches while the class of 1A watches on, she should probably stop this.

Thankfully, Denki had the sense to let go of Bakugou as soon as he and Midoriya began brawling, so he's watching wordlessly from the sidelines with her.

"Denki," she calls out numbly, tugging on his uniform sleeve. The blonde turns to her, questioningly, and the look on his face tells her that he certainly wasn't expecting Midoriya to start fighting the ferocious blonde, either.

_At least it isn't just me freaking the fuck out right now, then._

"I need your body," she murmurs to him.

"What?"

Mari doesn't have the time to explain, so she merely looks into his eyes and possesses him, idly noting to apologise for stealing his body without warning next time she sees him.

She sees the ceiling on the UA cafeteria before her consciousness leaves her, and she finds herself inside the blonde. It's always a little jarring, getting used to the difference of height and body type when she switches, but she has no time to get comfortable.

She looks to the two boys fighting and readies herself, collecting power at her fingertips. Denki had explained to her once how he uses his quirk and summoned his electricity, so she at least _somewhat _knows what she's doing.

She feels electricity crackle at her fingertips as she runs towards the boys and places a hand on each of their backs.

She claps and rubs her hands together and shouts **"CLEAR!" **before promptly electrocuting them both.

.

.

.

Let it be known that Aizawa Shouta is a simple man.

He cares little for the many complexities of life and much rather prefers the holistic, almost _hermit-like _way of living.

In fact, if it weren't for UA Aizawa thinks he'd be quite happy living out his days solving crimes in the shadows. But alas, things never work out so nicely.

And it's not as if Shouta _doesn't _like teaching - he finds it quite rewarding, actually - but sometimes he likes to _relax._

Forget about his worrisome students and their woes, and spend some time in the teacher's lounge, eating his leftover pasta and petting the stray cat that often comes by the window.

Was that so much to ask for?

A mere _thirty _minutes of the day for the man to relax?

Apparently so.

When Tenya Iida comes rushing into the lounge, completely unannounced (already alarming as it was so unlike him) shouting that two of his students are _brawling _on the cafeteria floor, somehow, Shouta knows it has something to do with Mari Yoshizawa.

A teacher's instincts, perhaps, or maybe it's just the uncanny correlation between Mari Yoshizawa and _trouble._

With a drawn-out sigh, he waves off his already standing coworkers with a mutter of "I'll handle it," and reluctantly follows the class president out the door.

On the way there he is informed it is _Midoriya and Bakugou _fighting, which makes him raise his eyebrows but overall doesn't surprise him. The two boys obviously had some unresolved tensions from middle school, and Shouta reminded himself yet again to do _something _about that already.

What _does _surprise him, however, is learning that _Midoriya _started the fight.

Shouta has little time to dwell on that fact as he and Tenya reach the scene. Aizawa makes it just on time to witness _Kaminari Denki _electrocute them both into unconsciousness.

He stands agape for a few moments, as does the rest of the UA students circled around them watching the spectacle.

Now here… Here was something Shouta was _not _expecting.

Kaminari stands before the two passed out boys and wipes the sweat off his forehead. Shouta's eyes scan the crowd of students watching looking for-

_Ah._

He spots the obnoxious pink hair he's searching for, but Mari Yoshizawa is unconscious, a few feet away from Kaminari.

The gears start turning in Shouta's head.

He regards the uncharacteristically arrogant grin on the blonde's face and the unconscious pinkette on the ground and connects the dots.

"Yoshizawa?" he guesses, narrowing his eyes on the electric blonde.

His suspicions are confirmed when the 'Kaminari' turns to him, surprised, and gives him an entirely unapologetic grin.

"Plus Ultra," is all she offers in explanation.

Shouta sighs very deeply.

.

.

.

"I'm telling you, sensei," Mari Yoshizawa begins, standing in the middle of her empty classroom. "They were already dead when I got there."

Aizawa gives her a resigned glare and runs his hands down his face with a sigh. "Unconscious, not dead," he murmurs back, seemingly correcting her just from reflex alone. "And I hate to break it to you, _Yoshizawa, _but I and all of your peers saw you use Kaminari's quirk on them."

"It was pretty funny to watch though, wasn't it?"

The blank stare her teacher gives her in response tells her that it was not nearly as entertaining to him then it was to her.

"Stop playing around," he tells her. He crosses his arms over and his chest and gives her an unimpressed look. "And give Kaminari his body back, already."

Mari sighs but does so anyway. "Just don't talk shit about me when I'm not here," she mutters before activating her quirk again.

By the time Mari Yoshizawa returns to her own body the cafeteria has already been emptied and the rest of her class has presumably gone to their lessons.

Or at least, _that's what she assumes, _until she sits up and comes face to face with none other than Todoroki Shouto.

She jumps slightly, but other than that does not let her surprise show.

"Todoroki," she begins neutrally. She pauses, trying to think of the polite way to ask what she was about, but figures she's hardly someone for mincing words anyway.

"Are you some kind of pervert?"

Mari almost feels she has to credit how stoic Endeavour's son remains, even though she _knows _she's taken him by surprise if the way his heterochromatic eyes widen slightly is any indicator.

He stares at her for a few moments, then, "Pardon?"

"You heard me," Mari continues. "Do you always prey on unconscious girls? Or are you merely a man of opportunity?"

"I-" he pauses, clears his throat, and makes a pitiful attempt to keep his composure. "It was nothing like that," he tells her cooly, but his red ears tell another story. Todoroki continues, "I volunteered to stay here and watch-"

"Watch me sleep?"

_"-Watch _over you. We thought you used your quirk and we didn't know what would happen if we moved you."

That was... oddly considerate of her classmates. In fact, it did _indeed_ take longer to return to her body if it was moved from where she left it, but she doesn't tell Todoroki that and merely lets him continue speaking.

"We didn't want to leave you here, either, so I stayed behind to make sure nothing happened."

Mari narrows her eyes at him suspiciously. "A chivalrous pervert, then? It's not every day you see one of those."

Though she does notice Todoroki subtly bristle at her taunting again, he does not comment on that. Instead, he looks away from her. She would say he was embarrassed if she thought the boy was socially aware enough to be.

No, no he wasn't _shy _per se, but instead, it seemed as if he was reminiscing. Todoroki is somewhere else entirely when he replies, "It was the least I could do, for you."

Mari might've made another sniping comment about what a _gentleman _he was if it weren't for the strange phrasing._ 'For you' _implied it was personal.

"How lucky I am," she mutters sarcastically. Just for good measure, she follows that up with, "Most would kill for such a benevolent and perverted guardian angel." Then, trying to sound casual about it, she adds, "I wonder what I could have done to deserve such an act of kindness and creepiness."

Todoroki takes the bait easily enough. His black and blue eyes cut to hers. "I don't think you remember it," he begins. "We've met before."

That certainly wasn't what Mari was expecting. "We have?"

Mari might not have been the most _observant _person, but surely she wasn't so self-involved to forget meeting the offspring of the _number two hero?_

_Oh. _Come to think of it, it did take her almost two weeks to properly remember Denki's name, so maybe it isn't _so _far fetched.

Mari purses her lips and stares at him.

Todoroki nods and continues, "We never exchanged names. But you did save my life." he says, staring at her earnestly.

Mari almost laughs in his face. Now she's _certain _he's got her confused with someone else. Amused, she replies, "That doesn't sound like something I'd do."

Which is probably the nicest way of her saying _why the hell would I care enough to save your life?_

Todoroki isn't hindered by her disbelief. He continues, his voice set with steely determination and resolve. "When I was nine years old, my father and I-" _Sweaty Fire Man, _her mind supplies, "went shopping together. Usually, we'd get a servant to, but this time was different. We'd be getting my first training equipment."

Todoroki was training already at _nine years old? _She supposes that _would _explain how he was so powerful now.

He continues, "The press… Recognised my father. And that caused some unwanted attention…"

Mari hardly sees what this story has to do with her. And as much as she would _love _to tell him to _spit it out already, _something about the look in his eyes tells her that it's taking a lot of resolve for Todoroki to tell this story. So, she lets him continue he rambling for a few more moments.

"Soon enough a villain attacked us. They moved when Father was distracted. He… had me as a hostage."

Mari notices the pain in Todoroki's eyes as he recalls this all. She might've comforted him were she a nicer person. But she's not, so she merely keeps her mouth shut and allows him to continue, desperately ignoring the sinking feeling in her stomach.

"He had a gun to my head. None of the other heroes… They couldn't do anything." Todoroki pauses, and she watches him clench his fists in the corner of her eye. "Not even my father."

_Shit._

Is she sweating? She feels like she's sweating. Suddenly this story is seemingly a lot more _relevant _to her and she doesn't like it. She doesn't like it _at all._

"They didn't _do _anything. They all… just watched. But _something _changed. The villain… he suddenly pointed the gun at himself."

**F** **_FUCK FUCK FUCK UFKC FUCK FUCK-_**

Mari thinks she might throw up. Unfortunately, she knows _exactly _where this story is going.

She feels numb - her body isn't responding but she's gotta do something, _gotta stop him, gotta stop him, gotta stop him-_

_(don't shoot)_

"The villain shot himself. The police said it was suicide but I noticed something… A girl in the crowd… She was being scolded by her mother but she was inconsolable… She was begging for forgiveness and she said that she kill-"

Mari's body moves on autopilot. Despite the hallowed numbness she feels throughout all of her nerves she still scrambles to her feet and slams her hand down on Todoroki's mouth.

The boy seems genuinely surprised as she does so, but he doesn't move to remove her hand when she speaks next. "If you _truly _believe you owe me a life debt, Todoroki," she begins slowly, trying not to let her voice show how utterly _terrified _she felt in that moment. "Then you will _never _bring up that story again." She pauses and lets out a shaky exhale. "And if you _do," _she begins again, "Then I will ensure that it's the last thing you ever say."

Having said her piece, she moves away from the boy and gauges his reaction carefully.

He doesn't seem all that _frightened _by her threat but he does have a troubled look on his face as he nods and replies, "If that is what you want."

_"It is." _Mari says, firmly.

"Then I won't speak of it." He tells her. She's not someone who takes people's promises at face value (Mari Yoshizawa knows far better than that), but his words still reassure her. "_However. _Know that I won't ever forget what you have done for me, Mari Yoshizawa."

She would have considered that a threat if not for the gratitude in his eyes.

_A chivalrous pervert, indeed._

.

.

.

_Holy fuck there was a witness_

**HOLY FUCK THERE WAS A WITNESS**

Despite her and Todoroki's _tentative _agreement to not speak of the matter, Mari Yoshizawa can't help but feel sick to her stomach.

The police had stopped questioning her years ago on the murder but were _the hostage _to come forward and say it wasn't a suicide, then that would open up the case all over again.

And Ishikawa… She shudders to think what lengths he would go to bring the case to a jury yet again.

That _cannot _happen. She refuses it. If word got out, even if it was just _speculation _that a UA student was involved in a homicide then that would be it. Forget about not participating in the _Sports Festival, _she would be outlawed from every hero school in the country.

And that's with the _wishful _thinking that she would still be attending school, and not spending her days rotting away in juvie. She was only in holding for a week but even then… that was easily one of the worse weeks of her life.

And this time she wouldn't be able to count on Yua to bail her out. No, no, her pride simply _wouldn't _allow it, not to mention that she could hardly place so much trust in her runaway sister now.

Mari considers the implications of her conversations with Todoroki as she paces outside the classroom. Undoubtedly, Aizawa would be waiting for her inside, but to speak to him while she was in this state… That would be a kamikaze mission.

She continues her pacing, trying to look at the situation rationally.

_Todoroki said he wouldn't tell._

**(But you can't trust anyone's word, if Yua's leaving taught her anything.)**

_It's his word versus mine._

**(Yes, but who will the public believe? The renowned son of a famous hero, or a problematic high school delinquent with a record for violence?)**

_He has no new evidence._

**(When has that stopped a hero prosecuting a ****_villain _****before, anyway?)**

_I can say it was an accident._

**(That's a lie. And no one will believe you.)**

_I could get a good lawyer._

**(Who would help a villain?)**

_I could flee the country._

**(You can run, but you can never hide from the truth.)**

_I could get someone to help._

**(You have no one.)**

**(You are no one.)**

Mari shakes her head, this downward spiral wouldn't help her get anywhere._ If I were in Todoroki's position, what would ensure my silence? _She wonders.

**(Blackmail.)**

_I don't have any blackmail on him._

**(We could get some.)**

_How?_

The idea hits her suddenly, and Mari can't help the fiendish grin on her face. Of course, it's so simple. The key to having someone protect your secret is for you to have one of _theirs _to hold over them.

And how does one _lose _their secrets? _They tell their friends._

With her face set in determination, Mari makes up her mind and nods to herself.

**_Mari Yoshizawa would become Todoroki Shouto's friend even if it killed her._**

_Or him._

_Whichever comes first._

She doesn't have time to ponder on this brilliant plan of hers for long, as it is at that moment that Aizawa leaves the classroom.

He pauses when his gaze reaches hers. "There you are, Yoshizawa. I was starting to think you had run away."

_I seriously thought about it, teach._

She looks at him and holds her head up high. "No more running away for me, sensei." Not from Aizawa and his stupid lectures, nor from Todoroki and her secrets.

"Good," he teacher mutters, but he doesn't seem that pleased. "Follow me then," he says. "We're going to Recovery Girl's office. Someone has to explain to Bakugou what happened and I'm glad you're not shying away from the task."

_Oh._

_Perhaps she should be running away._

.

.

.

Five minutes later Mari finds herself patiently explaining the events of lunchtime to the fried Bakugou and Midoriya.

Midoriya seems _incredibly _embarrassed at the reminder of him punching Bakugou, while the blonde just seems pissed off about the whole thing in general.

At Aizawa's prompting she reluctantly apologies to them about the whole _electrocuting _thing with all the sincerity that is to be expected from her, which is to say none at all.

Aizawa seems content enough with it anyway, and once he gets the whole recounting of it all he issues three days detention after school for all of them and then leaves, grumbling something about hermits and pasta as he goes. Bakugou leaves soon after that, picking up his school bag and not saying anything to either of them when he does.

Inevitably, that leaves Mari and Midoriya in the nurse's room by themselves, _yet again._

As expected, neither of them say anything, so a tense silence falls between them.

This continues for a _painful _thirty seconds until Mari opens her mouth. She isn't sure _what _she intends to say, but imagines it was something along the lines of an awkward and insincere thanks for standing up for her.

Midoriya beats her to it, however, and speaks before. "I'm sorry, Yoshizawa-san!" he cries out, bowing his head so quickly that he almost falls off the hospital bed.

Mari stares at him for a few moments and then decides that she has _no idea _how Midoriya's thought process works. And she doesn't think she ever will.

_He _was apologising to _her _after she electrocuted him?

When Midoriya realises that Mari doesn't intend to say anything in response (because _really, _what was she meant to say to that?) he continues with his apology. "I shouldn't have reacted that way. I just… got so _angry-"_

That was Midoriya _angry? _She would have laughed at him if it didn't seem as if he was going through something of a personal breakthrough right now.

He looks at her, unnervingly green eyes peering at her so _earnestly _(Mari doesn't think she could ever get used to a look like _that) _that it throws her for a loop for a few moments.

"When you said that Bakugou _burned _you I was just so angry. I noticed that you started wearing gloves when you came back to school, but I didn't think that- I didn't even consider that-"

Mari can see Midoriya getting worked up again and considering the last time she did that _he punched Bakugou, _she decides to deescalate the situation before something happens. "Midoriya," say says softly, yet firmly. "While I _do _appreciate you looking out for me-" _Did she? It was too bizarre a concept for her to really revel in _"- It is not necessary. The burns were an accident, and it happened a long time ago."

Midoriya doesn't say anything for a few moments, instead moving his gaze to her burned hands. It feels strange to have someone staring so openly at them and Mari idly reminds herself to retrieve her gloves the next chance she gets.

A hand is placed over hers. Mari looks up, confusion clear in her face at the sudden boldness of Midoriya. "It wasn't an accident, though, was it?"

She swallows and doesn't answer him.

Thankfully, Midoriya doesn't quite have the guts to press the matter further than that, it seems. He moves his hand and looks away from her. "Anyway," he begins backtracking. "I'm sorry for making a mess of it all." He says sheepishly.

Mari blinks at him. Then a light bulb goes off in her head.

She grins at him. "Make it up to me, then."

Midoriya _stares. _"What?"

"You heard me. _Make it up to me."_

By the way Midoriya gapes at her, it is obvious he wasn't expecting her to say that.

After a few moments, he eyes her sceptically and asks, _"How?"_

Black, black, _morally black _eyes stare Midoriya Izuku down.

"Teach me how to make friends, Midoriya."

Clearly, he wasn't expecting her to say that, either.

.

.

.

* * *

**Extras (1)**

**simp **(4:02pm)

_ mari_

**simp **(4:02pm)

_ you know as well as i do_

**simp **(4:02pm)

_ that i have no qualms with u using me for my hot bod_

** _ [ok boomer] is now online._ **

** ok boomer **(4:02pm)

_ I do?_

**simp **(4:03pm)

_ Yesf_

**simp **(4:03pm)

_ u do_

**simp **(4:03pm)

_ so use it as you please but give me a warning next time _

**ok boomer **(4:03pm)

_ I did give you a warning._

**simp **(4:03pm)

_ when?_

**ok boomer **(4:03pm)

_ I turned to you and said, "Denki, I need your body."_

**simp **(4:04pm)

_ i,,,, didnt think that u meant that literally,,,_

**ok boomer **(4:04pm)

_ What other way could I have possibly needed your body?_

**simp **(4:04pm)

_ ya know_

**simp **(4:04pm)

_ carnally_

**ok boomer **(4:06pm)

_ I'm going to pretend that you didn't just write that._

**simp **(4:06pm)

_ u cant deny the heart its desires forever mari_

** _[ok boomer] changed [simp]'s name to [delusional simp]_ **

**delusional simp **(4:06pm)

_ bruh_

.

.

.

* * *

omg

this chapter came out of fucking nowhere. literally, not a single thing that happened in this chapter was on the chapter online. deadass, my outline was like

**\- mari goes "hrr drr baku burnt me :("**

**\- kaminari probably says some simp shit about it**

**\- lunch bell rings, 1a yeeters themselves back to class (every1 is kinda weird around mari now tho)**

**\- shinso and general gucci gang arrive on scene like bad pokemon trainers. "hrrr drrr u guys suck, i will beat u all"**

**\- mari and shinso have fat chats and exchange banter**

**\- mineta is also there (see conversation reference)**

**\- shinso and mari hang out, do their first training session (sprinkle some cute shit in there, shinso doesn't get enough screen time)**

**\- flash forward: the festival is upon us bitches**

And the rest is censored for spoilers sake, and because I am certain if you read my chapter plans for long enough you will, indeed, have your braincells sucked™ out of you one by one. Point is, I honestly don't know where the fuck this chapter came from. But hey, I'm for it. Let Deku go Ape Shit. Broccoli gotta rage (side note: I legit forgot how to spell broccoli for a moment and googled the phase "brocolo" for it. I ashamed to admit that English is my first language and I was Dux of English in high school so this shit ain't even funny, it's just sad)

Anywho, crackhead hours aside, I've had this finished in my drafts for a few days because I'm not feeling 100% on it. I strangely feel as if the tone in this chapter is really different to the other chapters? But I'll let you guys be the judge of that.

There's not many notes for this chapter (by which I mean I don't have a four page essay prepared this time) so I'll just say my piece now and make it brief. Thank you everyone who left such lovely reviews on the last chapter or comments on ao3! I am also incredibly happy to get such good reception on the spin off idea! I've already got quite a few scenes and plot points planned, and I'm hoping to release the first chapter sometime in July! Though! As it is a fresh story I would absolutely LOVE to take any suggestions from you guys for characters in the AU! I've got most the roles for the main characters planned out, i.e. I am indulging in this fic and Monoma is now a love interest in it (he is now the figurehead student council president, very arrogant, all the gangs hate him and Tenya, his vice president, is the only one in the student council who does actual work lmao) but I'm still open to suggestions or head-cannons!

Thank you for your continued support and I hope you all have a wonderful day!

* * *

**/EDIT: The gang au I spoke of in this chapter and last chapter has been posted, you can find it on my profile under the title "Tunnel Snakes Forever!"/**


	19. MARI YOSHIZAWA WANTS A NORMAL WEEKEND

shinso is a simp now too im sorry

* * *

Reviews from the Last Chapter!

**WhEdgy**, chapter 18: deku finna go ape shit. this boy is in his teenage rebel years so damn it let him have a smack down with bakugou if he wants to. hell, i want to have a smack down with bakugou-

**WhEdgy**, chapter 18: lmfaooo im sorry WhEdgy it had to be done! i gotta keep y'all hooked by revealing backstories when you least expect it! you can rest easy for this chapter at least, it's more fluffy filler than the last update, for sure

**Emocean**, chapter 18: I think I get what you mean. I always used ao3 first because I got into fanfiction quite late (and even then I used to use *shudders* Wattpad) but the site is really growing on me! anywho, i'm glad you like the chapter! thank you for your support on both versions of the story ˙˚ʚ(´◡`)ɞ˚˙

**Alora Lawson, **chapter 10: bahahah! it makes me really happy to know that i made you laugh! i'm glad you enjoyed it!

* * *

MARI YOSHIZAWA WANTS A NORMAL WEEKEND

* * *

(Which, she is beginning to realise, is near _impossible _with friends like these.)

.

.

.

While her classmates spend the two weeks before the UA Sports Festival training their _bodies, _Mari Yoshizawa engages in her own rigorous training program of the mind.

And by that, she means that she spent the weekend searching "how to make friends" on the internet for her fiendish blackmail plans for Todoroki.

After her brief conversation with Deku in the Recovery Girl's office, the green-haired boy excitedly agreed to help her. With great reluctance, Mari gave him her phone number so they could stay in touch.

Deku had already sent her numerous links to articles and youtube videos while she rode the train home that day. With each link came an emoji of All Might smiling and a "Plus Ultra" gif that had Mari scowling at her screen.

It was at that point she began to doubt her decision for enlisting his help, but really, there was no one else she could turn to. Her only other friends were Shinso and Denki_, _ but there was no way in _hell _she was going to ask them. Shinso was just as antisocial as she was and if she asked Denki for help then she'd never hear the end of it.

Which left her with Deku. Cowardly, _ spineless _Deku who managed to befriend most of 1A within the first school day.

There was something oddly _magnetic _about the boy's nervous disposition that made you want to be near him, and protect him - of course, Mari never felt this way, but seeing Deku become increasingly more confident in himself was almost endearing, in a weird kind of way.

But she would be the last one to admit that. The agreement she and Deku had was one of necessity and _convenience - _nothing more.

After she returned home that day she idly scrolled through the articles and videos, noting with annoyance that they were primarily based for _children. _

Things such as _sharing your favourite toys _wasn't really a viable option for Mari in _high school. _ And besides, she'd rather _die _than share her favourite Tom Nook plushie with anyone else, friend or otherwise.

There were some things in there that were applicable to all ages but it was all too _vague _to really work for her. The advice mainly consisted of _ Making Yourself More Approachable _or _ Finding Common Interests. _

The first one was just _ridiculous _because Mari Yoshizawa was the most approachable person on the face of the Earth, but the second one had some merit to it. After all, she only befriended Denki because of a shared interest in video games (as well as the blonde's stubbornness) and she befriended Shinso for the shared interest of UA.

With this in mind, Mari decides the next step in her _diabolical _plans of friendship and mayhem would be to find out all of Todoroki's interests.

Which, she finds out, is _so_ _much harder than it sounds._

_ . _

_ . _

_ . _

Todoroki Shoto wasn't exactly an _open _person.

He was a man of few words and even _fewer _interests, apparently.

Considering the boy was _something _of a celebrity, Mari begins her research on the internet. A quick hero wiki search reveals that he has _three _older siblings (Mari pities him, she's only got the one and Yua still manages to always drive her up the fucking wall) and most of the time he is seen training in the Todoroki Family courtyard.

And that was about it.

Despite being in the public eye, he was never seen going out with friends or slacking off at a Karaoke booth, he was almost always holed away in his family's home training. His father denied all interviews on his behalf and browsing through the latest news articles only gives her generic stories like _ "Number #2 Hero's Son Follows His Footsteps at UA!" _

Annoyed, Mari decides to dig a little deeper. She begins to go through obscure blog posts and anti-hero Reddit forums to see what she can dig up. It's harder to find relevant or accurate information (one post claimed they saw Todoroki outside the same Soba stand four days in a row, _ ridiculous) _as most of the forums she looked at are dominated by Hero Killer propaganda.

Mari's eyebrows shoot up as she sees the sheer amount of _support _ Stain has amassed over the past month. She was hardly one of those people who went around going "I liked *_blank* _before it was cool!" but she can still remember voicing support online for Stain and getting thrashed for it not all that long ago.

It was nice to see more people supporting him. Of course, Stain wasn't the _greatest _political icon for ending hero-villain discrimination, but he certainly had the spirit.

After going into a rabbit-hole of Stain posts for an hour or so, Mari finally begins finding something of _sustenance _for Todoroki. She finds a thread dedicated to posts and stories Endeavour had supposedly censored from the media, paying off reporters and broadcasters to not publish them. The first story she sees involves Todoroki defending her at UA, which she reads with wry amusement. Luckily, none of the reporters had the audacity to post any photos of her face, so Mari is reduced to an anonymous "pink-haired thug"which she finds fitting.

The next story is a theory about Todoroki and Endeavour's black eye which makes her laugh and has her commenting that she _ 'had it on good authority' _that Todoroki punched him.

The next one isn't nearly as… amusing. This story is much older, and the photo that accompanies it makes her sick to look at. It brings back horrible memories, and things Mari resolutely decides not to think about.

The article is on the _ Shinjuku Shopping Centre Incident _that happened nine years ago, in which a young Todoroki is taken hostage by a villain before his captor ultimately ends up shooting himself. Reading through, it becomes abundantly clear that what Todoroki told her earlier that day _was _true, and that she was the one who saved his life, all those years ago.

But the thought brings her no comfort.

She shakes her head from her spiralling thoughts and moves to the next story.

This one has to do with Todoroki's mother, which she realises she's seen nothing about in the news or heroes wiki. It's a conspiracy theory more than anything, filled with plot holes and _what-ifs. _The post is made on a throw-away account and is obscure enough that there is almost no discussion and debate in the comments.

The poster claims to have done a "scientific" analysis on the scar Todoroki has, which has always been written off as a _ training accident _in the media. It says that the way the scar tissue forms and it's colouring would not be from a_ flame quirk, _and especially not Endeavour's flames which Todoroki would have inherited, which the poster cross-references with defeated villains who had faced the pro-hero.

The scar-theory ends there, asking the commenters what their personal theories were, and the poster instead goes to a different question - _ Where is Rei Todoroki? _

Apparently, Rei had not been seen by the cameras in the past few years, despite making (seemingly reluctant) appearances in the public before as Endeavour's partner at hero events.

When asked, Endeavour brushed it off either by saying "no further comments" or claiming she was busy at home taking care of their family.

It was all very _strange _but hardly something she could use against him with so little evidence, and nothing she could befriend him with.

Now that Reddit and Tumblr had failed her, Mari would have to swallow her pride and bring out the big guns.

* * *

**ok boomer **(7:32pm)

_I need your help._

** [delusional simp] is now online.**

**delusional simp **(7:32pm)

_ohoho~_

**delusional simp **(7:32pm)

_what is this?_

**delusional simp **(7:32pm)

_the oh so powerful mari yoshizawa is asking for kaminari denki for help!_

**delusional simp **(7:32pm)

_oh how the mighty have fallen! _

**ok boomer **(7:33pm)

_Nevermind._

**ok boomer **(7:33pm)

_I'm going to go ask Shinso._

**delusional simp **(7:33pm)

_WAIT WAITI WAIT WAIT_

**delusional simp **(7:33pm)

_ILL HELP ILL HELP DONT GO_

**ok boomer **(7:33pm)

_That was a quick change in attitude._

**delusional simp **(7:34pm)

_srry i got excited_

**delusional simp **(7:34pm)

_u never ask me for help!_

**ok boomer **(7:34pm)

_For good reason, too._

**delusional simp **(7:34pm)

_bruh_

**delusional simp **(7:34pm)

_but cmon! what u need help with!_

**delusional simp **(7:35pm)

_i bet i can guess_

**ok boomer **(7:35pm)

_If your guess has the words "carnal" or "desire" in it, then I will block you._

**delusional simp **(7:35pm)

_i retract my guess_

**ok boomer **(7:36pm)

_Good. _

**ok boomer **(7:36pm)

_I need your help in finding out information on one of our classmates. _

**delusional simp **(7:36pm)

_omg_

**delusional simp **(7:36pm)

_im scared to ask but,,,_

**delusional simp **(7:36pm)

_who and why?_

**ok boomer **(7:37pm)

_Todoroki. _

**ok boomer **(7:37pm)

_I'm interested in him._

**delusional simp **(7:37pm)

_aassuhfhdiisfifwieaufhizojfzojxzijzsfeui_

**ok boomer **(7:37pm)

_Denki?_

** [delusional simp] is now offline**

* * *

Mari stares at her phone screen, wondering if Kaminari had a _ stroke _when the screen lights up the Denki's self-appointed contact photo appears on the screen. Furrowing her eyebrows together, Mari swipes the answer button to take the call.

"What?"

Mari regrets asking, as the second the word leaves her mouth Denki begins shouting. "You can't date Todoroki, you just _ can't, _Mari-chan!"

Mari moves her phone away from her ear to accommodate for the blonde's volume and blinks.

_ "What?" _ she asks again, as that is all she can say.

Denki continues his blabbering, growing even more _ (dare she say) _ hysterical with each line. "If you guys have kids together then they'll be too socially awkward to function in society! You two are just as bad as each other! Imagine what would happen when you _ combine!" _

Idly, she notes that Denki does have a point. Anyone she and Todoroki would raise is sure to grow up as a shut-in. But that's beside the point.

"Kids? _Dating? _ What are you talking about?"

"You said you wanted to ask Todoroki out! I'm telling you, it's a bad idea! And you _ promised _me a date already so he better get in line!"

She was used to the nonsense Denki usually talks her ear off about but now she well and _truly _has no idea what the fuck he's on about.

"When did I say that?"

"You said you were _ interested _in him!" Denki shouts as if that explained anything.

Mari blinks again. He's referring to their texts, obviously, but that still doesn't explain where this notion of _dating _came into play.

"I am interested in him." She confirms (she hears Denki shouting at this in response) before adding, "That doesn't mean I want to date him or become the mother to his children, though."

Which was just… _ no. _

Mari had enough trouble befriending someone for the first time, she can only imagine what a hassle dating another person would be like.

The line is quiet for a few moments. Then, quietly, Denki says, "Do you promise?"

_ "What." _

"That you won't date him?"

Once again, Mari can only reply with an eloquent, _ "What." _

"Come on, Mari-chan! You really had me worried there! I know Todoroki ain't as cool as me-"

_ "You're not cool." _

"But you gotta admit he's kind of a lady killer!"

Mari sighs very heavily and rubs her forehead. "Denki," she begins tiredly. "Please stop talking."

There's a small noise of protest before the line goes silent again. Mari continues, "There's nothing between Todoroki and I. I just want to become his friend."

There's a pause. Then, hesitantly, "Really?"

Mari sighs and suppresses the urge to roll her eyes. _ "Really." _she tells him.

Then she hears an excited gasp on the line followed quickly by, "Does this mean you listened to what I said today at lunch? About being closer to our classmates!?"

Mari thinks about it for a moment and decides agreeing with him would be easier to explain then the whole "befriending for blackmail purposes only" reason.

"Sure," she replies.

"Yosh! This is so _ exciting!" _Says Denki in return. "I'll bring Kirishima by on Monday then! He's super cool, you'll like him! I'll get Sero to join us on Tuesday, too! And I'm thinking Tsu and Mina on Wednesday!"

_ Oh no. _

Mari realises with a cold sweat running down her neck that she has just made a grave mistake.

Denki continues, paying little attention to how deathly quiet Mari has gotten on the other line. "Trust me, Mari-chan! By the time I'm done with you, everyone at _ UA _ will want to be your friend!"

** _I've fucked up._ **

.

.

.

"Your directions were horrible and I hope you die in a fire."

Mari Yoshizawa blinks as she answers the front door. It's a sunny Saturday afternoon when Shinso Hitoshi appears at her home, looking less than pleased to see her.

"Well, you're here, aren't you?" she retorts with a huff. "That must be worth something."

Shinso offers her a half-hearted glare. "I had to get directions from one of your neighbours," he seethes. "You have a _ very _ friendly next-door neighbour who I now want to punch in the mouth."

And at this Mari can't help but snicker which makes Shinso scowl at her more. After a moment he sighs and adjusts the duffle bag on his shoulder. "Well?" He begins. "Aren't you going to invite me in?"

Ah, right. Mari didn't have people over often… or really, _ ever, _but she supposes a good host would probably let their guest into the house at one point.

Mari coughs into her hand awkwardly and opens the door for him. Shinso lazily strolls in, looking around her house with curiosity. The Yoshizawa's didn't have a _ huge _house exactly, but Mari never found any issues growing up in it. It seemed perfectly average to her.

So what Shinso was noticing… was probably the lack of life.

No pictures on the walls or drawings in the fridge. No cozy knit-knacks or souvenirs from family trips. Anything that could imply the house was _lived in _was removed when Yua left. Mari didn't question it, but she supposes in the eyes of others it might seem… _ weird. _

She stands awkwardly at the front entrance as Shinso looks around. After a moment, he chucks his duffle bag on the couch with a large _thud _and turns to her. "Your house is _ way _too normal, Yoshizawa."

Mari blinks. Was that meant to be a bad thing?

Shinso continues before she can say anything else. "I was expecting something more… Evil, I guess?"

Mari blinks again and then finds herself holding back laughter. "The Evil Lair is downstairs, I'll have you know."

Shinso snorts at her and opens the bag he brought with him. He begins bringing out various training equipment - shin guards, arm and leg weights, sparring helmets - which makes Mari raise an eyebrow at him.

To her surprise Shinso actually seems _sheepish _about it, rubbing his neck as he tells her he's never trained with anyone before and didn't know what equipment was best to bring - consequently, bringing it _all. _

No wonder Shinso was so pissed about the directions. Mari would be just about ready to commit arson if someone made her carry that many weights in the wrong direction on a hot day.

She still doesn't apologise for it, but she does grab the equipment and help him bring it to the backyard, where they would be for most of the day.

After the momentary awkwardness at the front door, the rest of the afternoon goes (surprisingly) well. Her and Shinso put on the weights and she begins going through with him the warm-up exercises and stretches they went through during the week.

Mari laughs at Shinso when he can't touch his toes, but he more than makes up for it by 'accidentally' knocking her over while they were doing balance maneuvers.

After that, Shinso produces a speaker from his bag and begins to play, what he described as, "the perfect workout playlist". The music was surprisingly upbeat for Shinso's taste, and even though Mari knew none of the songs whatsoever, it still did an admittedly good job in hyping her up for training.

After that they began to go into light sparring, no quirks allowed. Shinso was stronger and faster than her, and she kicked him in the shin when she noticed he was going easy on her. Mari struggled for a while, but after an hour or so she began to match Shinso in speed and cunning through sheer willpower alone.

They didn't talk much during the exercises, which, Mari notes with amusement, is probably why it was going so well.

She would be the last one to admit it, but she was more than a little worried about having a schoolmate over at her house for the first time. She expected them to be sitting awkwardly at two ends of the couch, struggling to make basic conversation - but _ this? _This was easy.

Mari liked fighting. She wasn't exactly _good _at it, but she still liked it. Fighting was easy. No subtleties or social norms were needed for fighting. Mari didn't have to worry about what to say or what to do with her hands - she just had to block punches and hit hard. It was _simple. _

Mari thinks she'd rather beat up her friends than talk to them any day.

She goes over some rescue exercises with Shinso and a few scenarios that she vaguely recalls in class. This goes on for a few more hours before the sun begins to make its descent and her purple-haired teammate is bathed in the golden rays on the sunset.

The oranges and red lights look quite pretty against his purple hair, but Mari would rather take one of Shinso's stomach punches again then admit to _that. _

After a particularly brutal and strenuous back-and-forth spar, Mari lies on the grass of her backyard, breathing heavily.

Sweats coats her like a second layer of skin, and pink hair sticks to her face under the fading sun. Her legs and arms ache like a _ bitch _ but there's something else there - a feeling of pride, or maybe _accomplishment, _at having matched against Shinso so well.

The music is turned off and Shinso's smug face appears before her. "Don't work out much, do you, Yoshizawa?"

Despite her heavy pants and aching muscles, Mari still lifts her leg to kick Shinso's foot. He lets out a puff of air in a not-quite-a-laugh-but-i'm-amused kind of way and easily dodges it.

"If you don't get it together, you're not gonna make it past round one in the festival."

Mari doesn't reply for a few moments, hot shame rushing over her as she recalls Aizawa's words.

If Shinso notices her drop in morale, then he doesn't comment on it as he goes to sit down next to her. From her angle, she's able to see that he's sweating like a pig, too, but is desperately trying to act like his normal unbothered self.

"I'm not going to be in the first round, anyway," she says after a moment, still trying to catch her breath.

Shinso raises an eyebrow at this and follows up with, "I know that I'm gonna _ kick your ass _within the first five minutes, but you should at least give it a chance."

Mari gives him a dubious look. How arrogant. Is this how she sounds to others?

"I'm banned from joining." She says finally, causing the relaxing Shinso to sit back up and stare at her incredulously.

"You're _ banned?" _

Mari nods.

"What the hell, Yoshizawa?" Shinso asks. "How did you get banned from the biggest event in the country?"

Mari attempts a shrug from her laying down position. "I think my teacher is out to get me," she settles on, unable to tell him the real reason.

(Saying that it was because "I wasn't good enough" or because "I wasn't _ heroic _enough" was harder than Mari cares to admit.)

Shinso stares at her, and if the way his eyes narrow is anything to go by, then it is clear he does not believe any of the bullshit coming out of her mouth.

"Is it because of the guy you shot?" he asks and Mari can't help but grimace.

Judging by the smug look on his face, Shinso knows he's right.

There's a pause and then Shinso goes to lie down on the grass with her. Neither of the UA students say anything for a moment, until - "So what are you gonna do about it?" Shinso asks her.

_ Huh? _

What kind of question was that?

"What would I do about it?" retorts Mari with a mocking snicker.

"I don't know," Shinso admits. He follows that with, "But you're Mari Yoshizawa. You always _ do _something about it."

Mari opens her mouth to remind him that they've only known each other _for a week _and that who was he to think he knew what Mari Yoshizawa does and does not do.

But then it occurs to her that he does have a point.

She always does something. Usually something stupid, but…

Mari Yoshizawa wasn't someone who took things without a fight.

And she refuses to let anyone think otherwise.

Mari sits up and looks down at him. "You're right," she admits (she notes with amusement that Shinso seems surprised to hear those words coming from _her _of all people). She gives him a devious grin. "I'm gonna do something. Something… bad." she decides on. Then with a nod of her head, she adds, "Yes... Something that will teach the UA Faculty a lesson for trying to go against me."

Though Shinso does seem mildly concerned, he shrugs and says, "Yep. That's just about what I was expecting."

Mari's mind begins whirling with ideas, but Shinso breaks her train of thought before she can get far. "I'm gonna grab a glass of water," he tells her as he moves to get up. Mari prepares to follow him but he waves her off. "No, you continue your…_ scheming. _ I can get it myself."

Mari nods and pays little thought to him as he leaves.

.

.

.

Shinso returns after about a minute, face whiter than usual and notably, without water.

She pauses and gives him a curious stare. His eyes meet hers, and with a monotone voice he tells her, "There's a woman in your pantry."

Mari stares at him for a few moments. Then, _ "What?" _

Shinso, with a thousand-yard stare, merely repeats himself. "There's a woman in your pantry."

Which definitely did not make it any clearer. Her mother would be the only person he could _possibly _be talking about, and she wouldn't be home until much later -

_ Oh. _

_ Oh no. _ There _was _another culprit, but surely even she wouldn't be that stupid.

(_No, she would be, _ Mari decides.)

With a heavy sigh, Mari stands up and makes her way to the kitchen. Shinso hesitantly trails after her.

She opens her pantry -

_ "Mari-tan!" _ _  
_

\- And promptly slams it shut.

"It was a mouse," she tells Shinso with a deadpan. Before the purple-haired boy can say anything in response, the door is opened again and two arms are grabbing her from behind in a hug.

"Mari-tan! I missed you!"

Mari lets out a sigh. "I didn't miss you," she says ignoring the way Shinso was burning holes into her with his alarmed stare.

Yua lets out a whine and grabs her tighter. "Ah, Mari-tan! If you keep acting so coldly, I'll cry."

_ "Then cry." _

"Um," Shinso begins after a moment. "Yoshizawa, what the fuck is happening here?"

Mari opens her mouth to answer, but Yua beats her to it. "You'll have to specify which Yoshizawa you're referring too, little boy-"

Though Shinso does seem disturbed at being referred to as a "little boy" at 15, he moves past it, instead repeating, "Which Yoshizawa?" His eyebrows furrow before it seems to _click_ and he continues, "Yoshizawa, this is your-"

"-Sister." Mari finishes with a mournful sigh.

Yua releases one hand off Mari and offers it to Shinso. "Yua Yoshizawa, big sister of Mari-tan! ❤" Yua's tail moves back and forth excitedly behind her.

Shinso stares at her outstretched hand for a moment, before he looks back up to Mari. "The one that drugged and kidnapped you?"

Ah. She forgot she told Shinso that. "The one and only," she affirms.

Shinso looks back up to Yua. "I thought you were missing," he says.

"So did I," Mari remarks.

Yua gives them both a strained smile. "Well, I'm back now, aren't I?"

"Yes, back in our _pantry. _" Mari says. "What's with that, by the way? Were the weird notes not enough?"

Yua huffs. "I saw that you had a _ boy _over," she begins, and Mari pretends not to notice the way she moves her eyebrows suggestively at this. "And I didn't want to interrupt anything, so I tried to make myself scarce."

Mari definitely doesn't believe _that _and judging by Shinso's face, he doesn't either. "You grabbed my hand as I was getting a glass of water," he says flatly.

"She _ touched _ you?" Mari asks, feeling anger boil within her. "Yua, _ I swear to God you better have not-" _

"I didn't use my quirk on him," Yua says defensively, already guessing where Mari was going. She almost seems _hurt _by the accusation, but it doesn't matter either way to Mari. Yua continues, "I was just… curious, is all. This is the first time you've brought someone home, _ let alone a boy!" _

Mari's cheeks go red - whether from anger or embarrassment, it's hard to tell before she pushes Yua off of her and back into the pantry. "That's enough out of you! _ You - _you go back in the pantry, damn it, I'll deal with you later!"

Despite her protests, Yua does indeed go back into the pantry which leaves just her and Shinso in the kitchen by themselves. "I'm-" she begins, but can't quite bring herself to apologise to him. "I'm going to start packing up the equipment."

And then, with her face still burning red, she briskly walks back to the backyard. After a moment of surprise, Shinso goes to follow her. Wordlessly, he helps her put away the equipment as well.

They remain silent as they work, but it hardly matters in the end as Mari's mind is somewhere else entirely. She's thinking about _why _ Yua had shown up so suddenly again and _how _she could act like she did before, playing the role of the goofy, airheaded and doting sister like it was nothing. Like what happened was nothing. Like Mari was nothing.

She's only brought out of her thoughts when Shinso places a hand on her shoulder. "You're thinking too much," he tells her. He grabs the weight she held in her hand and brings it to the duffle bag by the door - when had he moved it from the couch?

Mari goes to pick up another piece of equipment, only to realise Shinso's already cleaned up everything. He slings the bag over his shoulder and gives Mari an expectant look.

Mari blinks and then she goes to bring him to the front door, sparing a suspicious glance at the pantry door as she passes through the living room.

Once they stand in the entrance again, she expects Shinso to offer her a haphazard goodbye and disappear, but he doesn't. He lingers in the entryway for a moment, seemingly debating something, before he speaks. "Look," he starts. "I don't know what's going on between you and your weird sister, but you have got to stop stressing about it."

Mari blinks at him. It was hardly what she was expecting him to say after that _ordeal. _

Shinso takes her stunned silence as a sign to continue. "I don't know a lot of things about you, actually. But that's alright. What I _ do _know about you either deeply concerns me or amuses me. Sometimes both."

Mari stares at him. Where, exactly, was Shinso going with this?

Almost as if he could hear what she was thinking, he clears his throat and starts speaking again. "Anyway, the point is," he takes a deep breath. "You're a… good friend. So you should stop worrying about the things that go wrong and instead focus on the things that go right."

_ A good friend? Her? _

It was strange enough to be someone's _friend _but to be described as a _ "good friend" _was something else entirely.

"So, yeah. That's what I wanted to say," he finishes, awkwardly clapping his hands together. "And by the way," he adds. "Whatever you do at the sports festival, just keep me out of it. Preferably take down some of those hero students, too, while you do it. They're tough competition."

Mari might've laughed were she still not so stunned at being called _a good friend. _

"See you at school, Yoshizawa."

With that, Shinso turns around and leaves, heavy duffle bag _clinking _as he walks.

Mari stands at her doorway for a few moments, still trying to comprehend what exactly had happened there.

"He's whipped," a voice comes from behind her. Mari is unsurprised to see Yua standing over her, grinning deviously. "Now what's this about a Sports Festival, Mari-tan?"

Mari is too happy to care about her sister's eavesdropping at that moment.

_ You're a good friend, too, Hitoshi._

* * *

.

.

.

remember when i thought we'd have the sports festival done in, like, chapter 15? yeah me neither

seriously though, 50K words in and this bitch ain't even kissed anyone smh. who knew i could waffle so much. but anyway, I'm sorry for the long wait for this chapter, i don't know why, but i really struggled to write it. I've also been cheating on this fic with my side hoe (╥_╥) I started a new KHR SI/OC that's been in my mind for a while, and then I wrote about 15k for it because I couldn't stop! But anywho! New chapter!

next chapter you can expect some more mineta and todoroki and, if i follow my chapter plans for once in this miserable life of mine, should have some sports festival anarchy! thank you guys, so, so much for your support last chapter! and without further ado, here are the author notes for chapter 19!

1) My H/C is that Midoriya was a lot like Mari when he was young, in the sense that he wanted to have friends but struggled to get people to like him. So, in between bookmarks of All Might Fights on youtube, he probably has a lot of sites on "how to make friends" that he used when he was young, which he passed on to Mari, hoping they could help her like they did for him.

Also, Midoriya TOTALLY is the kind of person to send lots of gifs, and almost all of them are of Pro-heroes. Shinso, undoubtedly, is the kind of guy to send cat gifs or edgy TV screenshots. While Denki probably just sends obscure memes like "me and the boys looking for beans at 2am".

2) Mari's most prized possession is an animal crossing plushie of Tom Nook that is signed by one of the game developers. This is, admittedly, inspired from real life - as one of my most prized possessions is an Overwatch body pillow signed by the voice actor of the character. It will be my family heirloom, mark my words!

3) Denki's contact picture on Mari's phone is probably a really cheesy photo of him winking at the camera. On Denki's phone, Mari's icon is a picture of a busty anime girl, because Mari refuses to have her picture taken and Denki is a fuckin nerd.

4) Nobody:

Not a single soul:

Denki this entire chapter: 👉👈

4) Oh hoh! Do not fear! I know Mari says that she could never imagine dating anyone, but it will indeed happen! Mari also thought she'd never go to hero school or befriend anyone, but here we are! Mari's just a really closed-off person, so it might take a while for her to open up to the idea of dating, but I'll still try not to make this fanfic TOO slow burn heh

5) Shinso finally gets some more screentime! I love him, I really do, I just don't get enough chances to show him and Mari's friendship developing which deeply saddens me （πーπ）im sorry, my neglected purple boy.

6) bruh. shinso. my man. what r u doing. don't enable mari's bad behaviour! who knows what she'll do at the festival now! smh... but fr fr, don't worry guys, anything she does won't be nearly as bad as the reporters or USJ (I think...)

Also, it just occurred to me that like,,,, these past 19 chapters have only been like... a week or two in BNHA time. Wild. By the time I finish this fic it's gonna be a fucking novel.

7) yua and mari scheming together cannot mean anything good for UA. Rip Aizawa's peaceful teaching career.

8) this doesn't really involve the chapter, but i got a few pms about these questions, so I'll answer them here.

\- Someone asked what I do to get inspired to write, and tbh it's pretty much random whenever i get my inspiration bouts. Though, personally, listening to music or reading other people's writing tends to help. For this fic, I have a playlist that I specifically listen to for Mari's character (which can be found in my profile bio) and if you are having trouble writing, I also sometimes post writing resources that I've used or seem helpful on my Tumblr, where you can find me under the username **boob-lube.** Scroll past the memes and you should be able to find some things on writing dialogue or convincing characters, or writing prompts, etc.

\- Someone asked me what other fanfictions I like! There's a long list of them, but anything in my favourites i whole-heartedly recommend! I also have lots on my ao3 profile that I think are just *chefs kiss*. You can find that under the username **ScreamingPlants**

9) I finally posted that gang au that I talked about a couple chapters ago, I only have the prologue up right now, which is a little dry, but has a lot of necessary backstory. So far the fic is also a lot darker than I intended, but it should get lighter from here out. It can be found in my profile under the name "Tunnel Snakes Forever!" I hope to get out the next chapter for it soon!

And thats about it! I hope you guys like the chapter and thank you so so much for your support!


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